What measures should be included in the mandatory code for alcohol sales?
Posted by Kerry McCarthy, MP for Bristol East, at 16:20, Fri 8 May 2009:
Alcohol abuse is the cause of many of the health, economic and social problems we see in Britain today. To try and tackle these issues and the resulting anti-social behaviour which so often stems from alcohol misuse, the Government is planning on bringing in a new mandatory code for alcohol sales.
What do you think should be included in the code? Which of the following do you think should be given top priority?
Minimum Pricing - Ban on Happy Hours - More Information - Limits on Advertising - Protecting Public Health - Law and Order Measures - Limits on In-store Promtions - Tackling Binge Drinking - Protecting Tradtional Pubs - Standard Measures for Drinks - Limits on In-store Displays - Stopping Price Cutting in Supermarkets
Or any other suggestions?
To make your opinion count, go to: http://www.ukmandatoryalcoholcode.org.uk/ and take part in the Online Consultation.
Comments
Commenting on this message is now disabled.
Posted by Susan Higgins, 16:44, Fri 8 May 2009: (Is this post abusive?) #
I think the longer drinking hours has been a mistake in this country. Instead of people pacing themselves, they are drinking at the same rate but for much longer periods. I often catch the 5.45 bus home from work and there are several (usually men) people if not drunk, then very merry (what a silly word for it). These people have been drinking all afternoon. I think the following should be implemented:
Minimum Pricing - alcohol in supermarkets is far to cheap and accessible. Ban on Happy Hours Limits on Advertising Limits on In-store Promtions Standard Measures for Drinks More advertisements about the harm of alcohol abuse rather than advertising the drinks themselves.
The opening of coffee bars as they had in the 50s where it was "cool" for young people to go and drink coffee while listening to the latest music (it used to be juke boxes but it could be something else now). Otherwise young people are drifting into pubs or buying alcohol in shops at a very young age.
Posted by John Phillips, 19:07, Fri 8 May 2009: (Is this post abusive?) #
In no particular order:
1. Better policing of store sales hours for alcohol, especially small corner type shops. There are a number in my locale that have notices up claiming that alcohol cannot be bought before 8AM. However, if a buyer enters before this time and nobody else is around, in many of them you can buy whatever you want whatever the time. Of course, sadly, the ones usually buying at these early hours are the ones already with a serious drink problem. They can then be seen, depending n weather, drinking on the steps of nearby flats as early as 7AM. Unfortunately, even though our area is a no street drinking zone, there are never enough officers available to police the area. This is also true and sometime a real problem at night as well.
2. Limiting happy hours and silly pricing.
3. Stopping extreme loss leader pricing in supermarkets with at least a minimum real price for different types of drink. Perhaps allied with disproportionately higher excise for stronger alcohol content versions of typical drink types. Such as the very strong lagers and beers, often double strength but rarely double the price.
4. As to 24 hours drinking, I live on a route just off the city centre that revellers use on the way home or on the way to a nearby taxi office after a night on the city. Unfortunately, since 24 hour opening, the numbers I now see and/or hear literally crawling, staggering, bawling and sometimes brawling home up to 5-6AM is significantly worse than before. I.e. previously, say from Thursday to Saturday, you might get a certain number making their way past my window up to 3 or 4AM. Now you are as likely to get that many or more even later than 4AM even on normal weekdays, let alone weekends, when the numbers are considerably more and their condition is markedly worse.
5. Better and more targeted education and advertising about the problems of alcohol abuse might have some value. However, from speaking to younger people, most either find the existing ads condescending or simply dismiss it as irrelevant to them. We need to find a way to make the binge drinking culture as socially unfashionable and irresponsible as drink driving is for most people nowadays. However, as with drink driving, this is not something that will happen overnight and I don't pretend that it will be easy.
Posted by Joe Chester, 20:58, Sat 9 May 2009: (Is this post abusive?) #
Policing sales will not change the booze fuelled society that the UK has become. More Nanny State legislation and fining everyone who wished to purchase a drink just to appear to be doing something to combat those who abuse alcohol.
Why do binge drinkers do so with careless abandon? Because they don't have to take responsibility for their actions:
If they end up in A&E the taxpayers foot the repair bill.
If they vandalise property, the owner/insurers pay the bill.
If they get into trouble with the law, the law is very reluctant to bring them in and if they do there is no punishment to prevent re-occurrence as the law is there to pander to yobs and criminals. But again, any intervention by the law is footed by the tax payer.
So, a simple solution that will not fine everyone who drinks, but just those who abuse it is to make abusers responsible for the consequences of their actions. - They must pay for the A&E treatment. They must reimburse owners of damaged property for their acts of vandalism and they must reimburse the tax payer for the time police officer have to waste dealing with them.
Once that has been put in operation, they will no longer blindly get drunk without fear of repercussion.
Consequently, those who enjoy alcohol responsibly will not have to pay more to subsidise those who do. Jacking up the price will not stop alcohol abuse, but it will increase theft of alcohol.
Do the sensible thing and target just the wrong doers.
Posted by Dominic McGeer, 20:21, Sat 16 May 2009: (Is this post abusive?) #
one way that a government can be judged in terms of success is by the way that they handle social problems. this government is demonstrating its lack of ability by addressing this situation form the point of effect. I believe that a more effective way to deal with this situation would be to look at the cause. Currently addressing the issues and causes of alcoholism is incredibly underfunded and until the government look at it from this perspective and stop tinkering around at the edges in an attempt to pacify the middle class Mail readers nothing much will change.
Posted by Sinclair Parkinson, 20:31, Thu 25 June 2009: (Is this post abusive?) #
The main thing that needs to happen, rather than more legislation is for the Police/local council to enforce the existing law and severely punish the bars/pubs/clubs that keep selling alcohol to those that are already drunk.
Rather than taxing the end user for alcohol, increase the cost of a licence for city/town centre pubs/clubs as way of compensating the Police/NHS for their time dealing with the effects of their products.