A poster encouraging people to abstain from alcohol for three months at the start of Buddhist Lent at Wat Nong Song Hong temple in Samut Sakhon province on Thursday | AFP-JIJI
AFP-JIJI
Aug 3, 2026
Samut Sakhon, Thailand – With her palms pressed together and her head bowed, Wassana Nak-umma vowed to give up alcohol for three months, joining millions of Thais in an abstinence campaign blending public health with spirituality.
The 42-year-old housewife, who took the pledge at a Buddhist temple in Samut Sakhon, west of Bangkok, admitted she used to be a “heavy drinker.”
“I used to get so drunk that my kids had to clean up my vomit,” she said candidly.
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