Alcohol

[Oneeyedvic]

Well, we know that this is a problem with binge drinking and Friday / Saturday nights.

So what do you think about the following ideas:

1) Alcohol can only be served in single units. This means that you can only have a single glass of alcohol at a time. For spirits, this is pretty easy - one shot of 25ml for a 40% alcohol.

For bottles, again easy, manufacturers can only sell bottles that contain one unit.

Wines - whilst I realise that alcohol volumes can vary, this means that wine can only be served as a 125ml glass maximum.

Beers - this would be slightly more complex, but the 'normal strength' larger (up to say 5%) can only be served in half pints and higher strength ones would have to be in 1/3 pint glasses.

I believe that this would have two effects - one is that people know and understand exactly how many units they are consuming - no guess work involved. Secondly, I think that this will lower the amount people drank - one because of the extra hassle, and second because people will be more aware.

cont

[Oneeyedvic]

Also, I believe that no person should be able to work in a bar unless they have been on a course on how to deal with people and the responsibilities that they have.

Every bar should be fitted with CCTV and if a person gets aggressive or disorderly, the bar person will point out that they will not serve them anymore and that their actions are being recorded - if they continue in their manner, they will be arrested and charged.

Your thoughts?

[Ethel]

How would you stop a person buying 4 or 5 glasses at a time?

Or would every drinker have to buy their own, one at a time?

You'd need a lot more tills and staff

[Bathsheba]

Good ideas Oneeye, but i think the problem stems from the cheap booze available in supermatkets, and the punters are half-cut before they even reach the pubs, bars + clubs xx

[Oneeyedvic]

Ethel - re my second post, it would be down to the bar staff. Obviously people will be able to buy rounds, but if there are 6 people ni a group, they could only have 6 drinks.

Also the staff would be trained on how to handle these customers and know that they are being recorded on CCTV and that they have a responsibility.

[B00]

Then you have the problem of the bar staff you hire in your pub/club then OEV.

Not sure what its like where you live, but in the pubs round my town centre, the staff are little more than kids themselves- they aint up to the responsbility of doing all what you suggested.

[Oneeyedvic]

Agree Boo, that is why they would need to go on a course. If they are not up to the task, then they will not get the necessary qualification to serve.

Publicans obviously won't be happy, but they have to realise that they are employing staff who serve a mind altering substances which is open to misuse.

[Octavius]

Given the increased number of glasses that will need to be manufactured and washed, and the re-manufacturing processes involved in getting different sized bottles �just for the UK� have you considered the environmental impact this might have?

In addition, have you considered the effect this might have on businesses and the economy overall if you. I am sure CAMRA will object to their pot-bellied big bearded ale swilling clientele being rounded up with all those teeny-bopping shot guzzlers.

I suppose though with the increased bar staff you could get served quicker and more often!

[poohshunny]

What about the off licence? How would your ideas work in that environment?

[Oneeyedvic]

Yes, certainly a lot of pubs will be closed down - but to me that is a good thing - I believe we have too many currently.

Yes, there may well be an environmental impact for changing the size of glasses - but personally I would be willing to sacrifice that impact for a lower impact on the emergency services and the other costs on a Friday / Saturday night.

I go back to the premise that this is a mind altering drug and needs to be controlled.

[Oneeyedvic]

Not sure about off licences or supermarkets.

In my experience, the main problem seems to be on a Friday / Saturday night though. Tackle one problem at a time.

[Davethedog]

This is a social problem so -

1) Raise the legal age to drink back to 21, this should at least stopp the under 18s in pubs.

2) Stop the sale of alchol in supermarkets - never going to happen because there is so much money - but that what should happen.

3) Anyone found selling booze to underage loses thier licence or has the shop shut down or both - No 2nd chance straight away.

4) The person selling should go to court and be fined.

Its simple really but it wont happen because its all about money. They don't really care about the streets they want the revenue and the tax.

[nightmare]

There is one problem with serving beer/lager in small glasses - it makes you drink them much more quickly, thereby defeating the object of the exercise.

It is an old trick - if you want to get absolutely blotto, you drink halves rather than pints. Because it is "only a half", you tend to knock it back and finish it, whereas a pint takes considerably longer to drink, thereby slowing your drinking down, relatively speaking.
Trust me, I know.

[Gabbyfry91]

its not the supermarkets you know you get the booze from the corner shop. supermarkets are really hard to crack but i dont see your problem with drinking if you lowered the age limit not raised it there would be less underage peolpe drinking and the reason im saying this is because iv asked and me and my mates agree if the age limit had been 16 most of us would have waited as we all started drinking at 14/15 so one extra year wouldn have hurt.

and as for the unit idea why dont they just stick a big label on each glass saying 2 units or summit - sounds simpler

[keyplus90]

Ban it alltogether.

[Ethel]

There is no problems at all in my local pubs, thankfully.

But they don't have 'happy hours' or do anything to attract young people.

[foxchickens]

hi vic
you are the first stupid person i have met on here
well done!

[jake-the-peg]

Oh I love it when greenies come on hurling insults.

Well done foxchickens - I'm sure we all look forward to more insightful comments from you in the weeks to come!

[naomi24]

�� if there are 6 people in a group, they could only have 6 drinks.

Vic, have you ever worked in a busy bar? It would be impossible for bar staff to know who was with whom, and how many were in a group.

As I said on the thread in news, no one forces alcohol down people�s throats. We must take responsibility for ourselves. We have a sad culture among some groups in this country which says that it�s cool to get drunk, and that�s what needs to be changed. Legislation doesn�t change attitudes, but since advertising has changed our attitudes to drink driving and smoking, perhaps we could do something along those lines, highlighting not only the detrimental effects of heavy drinking on health, but the indignity and loss of self-respect that ensues from drunkenness.

Keyplus, why ban alcohol? Not everyone who drinks alcohol ends up drunk and disorderly, you know.

[Gromit]

As I have said on another thread, people aleady know that they are allowed 3 units (2 for women) which is 2 pintsish a day. The problem is that they choose to ignore the advice.

Binge drinking does not only occur on Friday and saturday, it happens every night. And it is not just people who go out to drink, it is people at home drinking to excess. Chavs are very visible drunks, but there is just a as much alcohol abuse in middle class homes.

Most of the people who partake in weekend violence would do it even if they were denied alcohol, it is how they get their
thrills.