Can we greatly reduce binge drinking by banning the sale of alcopops and sticking to the main drink groups?

Question

Would it make a safer community and help cut down on binge drinking & socially unacceptable behaviour by sticking to the five main original drink groups (wines, spirits, liqueurs, larger/beer, stout) and making it illegal to combine them with cordials, drink flavourings & cocktails which make them easier to drink and are the majority of preffered quick sale & nightclub drinks.

Please read the question fully before answering, this does not ask a question about totally banning alcohol, far from it, it aks whether sitcking to the original groups would cut down on exessive consumption. In nightclubs and town bars alcohol is delivered extremely fast by selling sweet tasting alcopops, the main drinks groups and drinking alcohol neat is harder to consume i.e. straight vodka neat as opposed to the V alcopop.

Answer 1

The phenomenon of Binge Drinking is nothing new. Leaving aside the depredations of Hogarth's 'Gin Lane' (Look it up on Wikipedia), adult drinking has supported a plethora of pubs since Victorian days. Take a look at the inner-city areas of London, Manchester, Newcastle etc and see how many pubs of Victorian construction there are still extant. You will find there are a lot.

I am fifty years old, a drinker of beer, and I have noticed a lot of changes apropos alcohol since I started on my beery way.

When I first started to seek out drink, it was virtually unobtainable, except in pubs and off-licence specialist shops. Corner shops and supermarkets were not allowed to sell alcohol. Pubs were very vigilant about under-age drinkers, even in inner cities. In my native Tyneside, the Police, in uniform, often would drop into a pub, and it was not unknown for a young Officer in plain clothes to spend an evening in a pub that was an habitue for young people, and report any slackness on the part of the licensee and his staff. There were very few pubs, except in Student areas, that angled their trade towards the very young, by means of juke boxes and live rock bands, discos etc. Similarly, night clubs were rare, and required membership qualifications, or the purchase and consumption of a meal. One could not simply turn up and be admitted to the membership clubs, and the meal clubs did not classify the purchase of a hamburger as a meal.

When I celebrated my eighteenth birthday, in a pub five minutes walk from my home, I brought my birth certificate with me!

The benefit of this was that young people, by and large, consumed their alcohol in the company of older, more experienced drinkers. Pubs had their own code of behaviour, and, generally, drunken and noisy behaviour was looked down upon, by both customers and the Licensee and staff. Entertainment in pubs revolved around social games - darts, dominoes and cribbage. Food, except for town centre pubs, was unknown, or served in a separate restaurant room, not in the bars - public, saloon or lounge. In consequence, young drinkers were regulated by public pressure, and licensees were kept on their toes apropos the under-age by the visits of the Police.

Today, we have a very different picture. Chain-pubs have ripped the seating from town-centre pubs, installed juke-boxes and wide-screen TVs, and have created stand-up booze outlets designed to be populated by the under-twentyfives. Night clubs have proliferated, irrespective of their proximity to residential areas. One can get canned to the wide in a pub, and then proceed to a club to complete the process. The company is exclusively within the same age group, there is no pressure to conform to any mature standard of behaviour. Essentially, anyone over thirty is barred from town centre pubs. An important element - passive social control - has been dodged around by the chain-owners, who can thus make huge profits by selling alcohol in large quantities to the immature.

The same applies to corner shops and supermarkets. I had cause to report a corner shop to the authorities when I witnessed them selling out of date drink to people whom I suspected were under age - they were selling the out-of date drink cheaply. I had reported my suspicions that they sold alcohol to under age people to the Police, but I only achieved a result when I reported the selling of out of date drink to Trading Standards. The Police seemed to be indifferent, but Trading Standards were in like a shot, and our neighbourhood became a lot quieter thereafter.

Our society values freedoms, and has become a society whereby rights have greater value than any display, or requirement, to exhibit responsibility or duty. The banning of alcopops will not lead to any reduction of alcohol consumption amongst the young. We need to re-gear society to a state that anti-social behaviour is not tolerated. The imposition of laws is a waste of time, as the Police do not have the resources to deal with any increased workload. Alcohol use, and abuse, needs to be returned to the citizenry to control.

I propose that 1. Pubs are open to anyone from 16. 2. Pubs are required to close at midnight. 3. Supermarkets and corner shops should only be allowed to sell bottled (not canned) beers under 4.5% proof, along with wine, but only full bottles of spirits (i.e no miniatures, quarters etc).4. Police should be allowed to enter pubs, in uniform, at any time. 5. Nightclubs should be available in cities and large towns for after-midnight drinking, but only on condition of the purchase of a meal, minimum cost of twenty pounds.6. Public drinking - in bars and pubs, should be encouraged. The forthcoming smoking ban should be modified, as all that this will do as it stands now is to increase home drinking, with concomitant effects on noise etc in residential districts.

Liberalisation has had its day, and has failed. Social responsibilty, and some mild coercion towards this end, should now be tried.

Answer 2

When I was younger, there was no such thing as alcopops and the only way underage drinkers could get drunk was to ask a legal-age person to go to the off-licence for them and somehow binge drinking still occured! The only way you can control it is by changing society's way of thinking alcohol is cool. I couldn't wait to be 18, even though I'd been getting drunk regularly since I was 9 years old (nothing to be proud about, trust me!). I wanted to appear grown-up and booze allowed me to give that illusion, especially as it was so hard to get hold of. Now with longer hours, supermaket availability and more nightclub culture, anyone who doesn't drink as a youngster is made to feel even more of an outsider. Raising taxes or making it illegal will just give booze more kudos. We need to change our thinking. 50 years ago, it was essential to smoke for health (yes, really!!). Now if you smoke, you become an outcast. Maybe it could happen with booze one day. Btw, I'm not anti-alcohol. There is a time and a place but doing anything which causes unacceptable behaviour in public or physical harm cannnot be condoned in the long run.

Answer 3

ALCOPOPS are the biggest growing sector in the market why would anyone want to take away revenue from a dieing trade? I do understand what you are saying but its up to the retailer to be responsible.... And as for 24hr drinking which someone has put in there answer this is a good thing and will help to bring Briton into the 21st century.

Its about time some of you moved with the times, woke up and smelt the coffee!!

Answer 4

It would be a good idea,but alcopops are too readily available.They aught to bring back the traditional pubs,the ones who would only sell wines,beers/lagers/stouts and spirits.
The only reason alcopops are there today are through demand.
I would like to see a binge drinker,drink a proper drink.
If alcopops were banned,people would find something else to drink,and it could be a lot worse.
I think the goverment should revoke it's agreement on 24hr licences,as this is doing nothing to curb drinking.
If we were to ban them in pubs and clubs,people would still drink at home,and get plastered before going out,then try being really clever and having wines,beers or spirits on top.
It does't matter what you do,it's always going to be one viscious circle.

Answer 5

The price of alcohol isn´t the determining factor in teenage binge drinking. They are growing up in a world where it´s deemed socially acceptable for adults to get roaring drunk and lose control of their senses. Of course they are going to go out and emulate them as soon as they can and having no sensible training in the use of alcohol they drink to excess and the problems start. Here on the continent binge drinking among teenagers does happen but to nowhere near the same extent. Culturally, drunkenness isn´t regarded quite so casually as it is in the U.K. People drink socially without the final objective of the night being oblivion and the sight of someone throwing their guts up through overindulgence is still quite shocking here. Until the Brits learn to drink sensibly and the whole culture changes, their kids will continue to grow up in an environment that is permissive towards alcohol abuse.

Answer 6

People have been binge drinking since before christ, I really don't think that any sort of restriction will stop this. Prohibition was an attempt to stop binge drinking by making it illegal to drink at all, we all know how well that worked.

Answer 7

No. thats some stupid right wing, republican thinking. Are you related to Pat Bucannon?

Jesus. How many freedoms are you going to take away? People would still drink. It would probably make things worse because then epople would be drinking straight liquor. That messes anydony up even more. Drink sometime try it.

I know 1 thing for sure. Teddy Kennedy would not vote for that!

Answer 8

Bans will create back street sales & illegal making of it.Who knows what will be shoved in it.

Answer 9

Maybe not, but it will reduce the amount of rainbow coloured vomit on the streets!