OPINION

Too much dazzle

Re: "New rules to tone down too-bright Bangkok billboards", (BP, July 4).

While we're on the topic of bright lights, could we not find a way of explaining to drivers that travelling with full-beam headlights, even during the day, plus fog lights, is largely unnecessary in the city? Dazzling oncoming traffic and pedestrians does not lead to improved road safety.

Help the farmers

Re: "Launch day rush crashes travel app", (BP, July 2).

Pheu Thai should learn from experience and promote productivity rather than consumption. Despite a sea of red flags from Thai economists, the Pheu Thai Party doggedly proceeded with tranches 1 and 2 of its signature 10,000 baht/person handout to most Thais, costing taxpayers 185 billion baht of scarce funds.

Results were so dismal that tranche 3 has been quietly "postponed". Pheu Thai's "Tiew Thai Khon La Krueng", subsidising domestic travel, is a roaring success -- but rewards the minority who can afford vacations -- not the majority who have trouble paying debts.

Despite employing 27.3% of workers, agriculture generates just 8.4% of GDP -- due to the low productivity of farm workers. Farmers are swamped in debt -- the last thing they need is encouragement to consume more, including on domestic travel. Almost 70% of Thai farm households are indebted, with average debt equal to 4.75 times annual income. About 40% of farming households earn below the poverty line, and for them, debt exceeds 14 years' income.

What could the government do to help farmers? To begin with, instead of given random and blanket subsidy such as fertiliser vouchers, government should focus on providing performance-based incentives for adopting sustainable practices; encourage co-op farming/land leasing to achieve economies of scale; transition from rice to higher-margin value crops (eg, gluten-free cassava flour, organic fruits); promote organic and safety standards (eg, EU-compliant) to access premium markets; subsidise retirement and transition plans to free up land for younger, tech-savvy farmers; revamp training to include financial literacy, digital skills, and entrepreneurship to attack low adoption rates among youth.

Boost productivity, not consumption.

Where's the harm?

Re: "Debate on casino complex bill delayed for one month", (BP, June 30).

Another month! The UK is rife with brick-and-mortar betting shops, sporting events that advertise wagering companies, and innumerable online casinos. Beccy Cooper, MP, writing for the Fabian Society, a UK-based think tank ("The Future of the Left Since 1884"), has produced a surprisingly compelling argument entitled "Where's The Harm? A Public Health Approach to Gambling".

Dr Cooper calls for a fundamental change in how to understand and respond to gambling that prioritises prevention, regulation, and population-level protection by placing people's health and wellbeing ahead of corporate profit.

Gambling has become so deeply normalised in much of the developed world to the point that it now resembles the blanket acceptance of smoking in the 1950s. Politicians are heavily beholden to gambling companies, and the health costs of this pervasive and addictive product are routinely overlooked. She argues that the current framing of the gambling issue, which focuses on individual responsibility and moral imperatives, fails to recognise the underlying structural and commercial drivers of pervasive harm to society.

She illustrates well how, by regulating the health risks of gambling in much the same way as alcohol or tobacco, by using evidence-based approaches to evaluate harm to the general population rather than to individuals, society will truly benefit. Opponents to the legalisation of casinos in Thailand might well consider this sensible approach. The pamphlet is available for free.