sarasquares

iTrader: (1)

Bring in 50p minimum price for alcohol, MPs urge | UK news | The Observer


Does our drinking culture just seem worse than everyone else's because its in the news so often?

Why cant grown up responsible adults be treated as such and monitor their own drink consumption, after all it is only the minority that abuse alcohol?

In other countries where alcohol is a lot cheaper they dont have the problem with binge drinking like we do in this country.

Making drink more expensive means that more crime will be commited to pay for it, and that affects innocent people. At least those abusing drink are usually only doing them selves harm, physically.

boxst

I always find it difficult to explain to foreign people why the UK has such a drinking culture. Other nationalities obviously like to and do drink but not to the excess (or continual excess) that happens in the UK.

Adding a minimum price will not deter people.

Steve

Leslie

No more difference than it does to drug addicts.

It will make some a lot of money and cost us more unfairly.

A positive attempt towards education at a young might do some good. Try to change attitudes towards that part of our culture.

Les

Markus

I agree, adding a minimum price won't deter anyone, especially if they are chav like welfare claiming types (as in can't be bothered to get a job, rather than those who actually really need and use welfare) as they are buying the booze with the welfare cheque so it's free money to them and 50p extra won't make them flinch.

Perhaps it's my warped thinking but specifying a minimum might cause more binge drinking from the aforementioned types as they'll puff out their chests and say "Look at me, I can afford to drink like a pished fish"

sarasquares

iTrader: (1)

Also i can imagine that a lot of people would start making their own at home if they couldn't afford to buy it. The kits are pretty cheap to buy and a pint would cost just pence to make so this could make the whole problem worse. I have seen loads of wine, beer and spirit kits on sale.

My sister used to make wine years ago but she stopped because she found that she was drinking more than she usually would and it wasn't very nice to drink and it messed around with your insides

fivetide

iTrader: (1)

Germans drink more than we do and don't have the same issues with anti social behaviour.

That's the problem not the booze per say and that's why this won;t work. Neither will yet another expensive education or information scheme. No one gets plastered and thinks it is doing them good, likewise fatties don't stuff themselves full of chips because they are unaware it is bad for them. We do it because we like doing it! Information about alcohol consumption won't stop the real issue and the kids will just move on to stronger drinks to get hammered faster.

5t.

sarasquares

iTrader: (1)

I think the law on loutish drink related behavior needs looking at. If the penalty for antisocial drink related behaviour was tougher then that would surely have a major effect. But then you have the problem that if the law was tougher or enforced more readily, where would you put all the idiots that break the law as there is no room in prisons to do this effectively.

First off they need to built prisons or institutions to put the offenders in and get them off the streets at least. Then they could perhaps be reeducated or something.

r32

Sadly for those families where some one has a drink problem increasing the price will mean less other stuff, food heating etc etc. Will result in increased petty crime to fund the habit.
Plus of course the single item which has made the situation worse is the Governments 24 hour drinking. It needs repealling but they would rather not as it means huge egg on face.................

sarasquares

iTrader: (1)

I would imagine that the extended drinking hours in pubs is way down on the list for making the problem worse, maybe i am wrong, i dont know.

Pub prices are extortionate! You would have to bring home a pretty good wage to be able to afford to sit in the pub all day.

I hate it when its my turn to buy a round as women drink faster then men if they are drinking spirits. Men take a bit longer if its a pint.

If pub prices came down then maybe less people would drink at home where it is cheaper. I for one now drink at home or friends houses more than i used to because pubs charge too much.

r32

Latest figures from the NHS show alchohol related visits (and associated costs £2.7BN) have doubled since the change to 24 hour drinking.

sarasquares

iTrader: (1)

People that are going to the pub often fill up on drink before they go out as they see it as saving money. This means that drinking at home you are drinking unmeasured amounts and therefore can very easily end up drinking much more than you realise.

I am not saying that extended hours is not a problem, just part of it.

windyboy

putting the price up won't really deter the drinkers, it just means that they pay more and the more they pay then the more tax you pay too and the government like taxes

windyboy

fivetide

iTrader: (1)

Disagree on extended hours, again it is a culture issue for me. Many places have much longer drinking hours than the UK and don't have our issues - see earlier point about Germands drinking more than us.

The difference is here we've been used to the tip as much down your neck between 7pm and 11pm because that's your lot.

A night out in spain for example is a much slower affair because they don't worry about that. Stops everyone arriving at the taxi rank at the same time and having a brawl. In France etc where drinking isn't seen as a rebellious or macho thing to do because of the wine trade they don't have the same issues.

It is a cultural problem unique to the UK i think and this will only punish those who go on the sauce occasionally.

Bound to be the next one to fall after the smoking ban though. Remember, tabs bring in much more revenue than it costs the NHS so this was only a matter of time.

5t.

Lee247

They amount of taxes they charge us, it's enough to turn anyone to drink

On a serious note, most people who enjoy a drink are sensible. The serious drinkers are in the minority. It appears to be just another form of "control"

They caused this small problem all on their own, with the introduction of 24 hour drinking

Trout

iTrader: (1)

I think they should bring in a three strikes and your are out.

Three accounts of drinking related antisocial behaviour and then public execution. It works with drug runners in places like China - I am sure it would sober people up very quickly here!!

sarasquares

iTrader: (1)

I dont think you get the 3 strike option in China

Terminator X

iTrader: (7)

Do we really have a binge drinking problem or is it just that we hear about it on the telly a lot? My view is the latter & this is just another Govt money spinner I don't drink a lot so won't hit me although the wife likes a bottle of wine or two ...

TX.

fatherpierre

It's approaching £4 a pint where I am. I can get 4 cans of nice stuff for the price of a pint.

My binge drinking days (in pubs) are over I'll binge at home and argue with the tv, and maybe fight the dogs if they fancy a fight.

Getting older does have its plus points.

r32

Alchololism in France and Germany is a very serious issue, particularly with the young, perhaps there isnt the vilolence we see in the UK that goes along with our drink problem.

I wouldnt suggest that going back to licensing hours would resolve the problem. But the police, ambulance service, casualty services have seen a sharper increase in drink related problems since the introduction of 24 hour drinking. I do believe that it would reduce the problem. But I also dont think that increasing the tax on booze will have much of an effect either. How ever since the change in law has resulted in 'some' worsening of the problems expect to see a significant tax rise rise in the next budget. Just like global warming related taxation, a bigger booze tax (like the tax on smoking) will be deemed "good for us" and it will be accepted by the masses.

Clever these Politicians. Create a problem, either real or imagined then work out how to tax it. Expect more ..........

r32

See the report below......................

France regards itself as a nation which knows how to take its drink, unlike, say, the Scandinavians or the British. But a hard-hitting report presented to the government suggested the entire country is in a state of alcoholic denial.


One in 10 French people has a drink problem, the report says. Every day, five people die of alcohol-linked accidents or diseases in France.

The semi-official study undermines an argument used by the Blair government for extending Britain's pub opening hours. Spreading drinking over a longer period, as France does, does not necessarily reduce alcohol-related social ills.

Addiction to alcohol in France is partly rooted in politics, says Hervé Chabalier, the author of the report, who is a television journalist and recovering alcoholic. The influence of wine-growers, and the wider drinks industry, on the government means the dangers of drink have never been properly addressed, M. Chabalier said. The one exception - a law passed in 1991 restricting drink advertising - was not fully applied and is now being dismantled, he said.

M. Chabalier, author of a best-selling book last year on his near-destruction by drink, calls for all bottles of wine and other drinks to have a health-warning label. He also wants a national campaign to warn young people - and especially young women - of the dangers of alcohol.

"Culturally, alcohol has always been considered here as something convivial," M. Chabalier said. "We must stop treating it like an everyday consumer need, like baguettes. It must be de-normalised."

The chances of M. Chabalier being heeded are slender to non-existent. The French wine industry, reeling from increased competition abroad and falling consumption at home, rejected the report yesterday as "alarmist" and unpatriotic.

r32

And in Germany.................

Excessive Drinking Growing Problem in Germany

Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: Germans don't always drink in moderationGermans lead Europe in alcohol consumption drinking on average 20 liters of alcohol per person each year. The drinking brings with it serious health risks and economic costs, according to a recent conference.

Don't be fooled by the rosy cheeks and twinkling eyes. Behind Germany's happy-go-lucky drinking culture are some sobering statistics.



On an average day, one in three Germans binge drink. It's this excessive alcohol intake that has pushed Germany to the top of the European Union in alcohol consumption. Per capita, Germany downs an average of 20 liters (5.3 gallons) of alcohol each year.



"Sadly, when it comes to alcohol consumption, Germany takes a leading position," said Jürgen Rehm, head of the Dresden Institute for Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy. He was speaking Monday, Nov. 13, at the start of a conference in Mannheim bluntly titled Addiction 2007.



Other European countries with similar alcohol consumption levels were Czech Republic, Hungary, Ireland and Luxemburg.



"These countries have exchanged the top spots in recent years," DHS spokeswoman Christa Merfert-Diete told the online version of the Focus

Leslie

I remember all the fuss when 24 hr drinking was introduced and what a splendid idea so many thought that to be.

Bit different now!

Les