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 Ministers to ban free drinks for women, Sensible rules or more Nanny state interference? |
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 Oct 12 2008, 05:48 PM
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#1
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 You are a child of the universe
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Bars are to be banned from offering free alcohol to women and free wine and beer tastings will be curbed under a new system of government restrictions to cut public drunkenness.
There will also be rules to limit “happy hour” offers that encourage speed drinking and soft drinks will have to be sold at the same discount during promotions. Wine in restaurants will have to be served in glasses with marked measures. The proposals, drafted by the Home Office and the Department of Health, seek to transform social attitudes towards drinking by breaking the association between drink and sexual, financial and social success. A code for the drinks industry, leaked to The Sunday Times, marks a hardening in the government’s stance after the failure of a voluntary code to curb binge drinking. Hospital admissions linked to excess alcohol have more than doubled in the past 10 years. Threats by the government over the past four years to crack down on irresponsible behaviour by the drinks industry have foundered under the onslaught of aggressive discounting and promotions. The mandatory code of practice has alarmed the drinks industry with an elaborate series of rules including: — Cigarette-style health warnings will have to be displayed wherever alcoholic drinks are sold. This would include shops, bars and, according to the industry, could force restaurants to place an official “sensible drinking message” on every table. — A curb on promotional free wine, whisky and beer tastings. No samples may exceed 125ml and “care must be taken to ensure that customers do not return for further tastings and run the risk of becoming intoxicated”. — A ban on drinking games, such as downing a glass in one, and “drink all you like” offers for those paying an entry fee will be abolished. — Wine in restaurants will have to be served in glasses with measures marked on the side. The government intervention represents a belated acknowledgment that hopes that Britain would adopt a civilised “cafe culture” with the introduction of 24-hour drinking have failed. It uses disdainful language to describe the attitudes spread by Britain’s bar culture, which it blames for equating heavy drinking with personal success. It warns that drinks should not be promoted as a means of boosting one’s “social, sexual, physical, mental, financial or sporting performance”. The practice of selling cocktails called Sex on the Beach, or more sexually graphic names, will also be scrapped. The safe drinking signs will have to include a statement from chief medical officers about safe daily drinking limits; a graphic showing the number of alcohol units contained within each glass or bottle and the address for a website offering information on drinking moderately. Casual bar staff may be forced out by the proposed mandatory code, which will require all bar employees to undergo accredited training. It could become an offence to fail to ensure that staff have been trained in checking a customer’s age, turning away underage customers, refusing to serve customers who have overindulged and preventing drunken disorder. Alcohol Concern has been calling for staff training in preventing excessive and underage drinking to be a requirement of a pub gaining its licence. The mandatory code, which would be enforced by Trading Standards, was this weekend welcomed by health experts. Professor Ian Gilmore, president of the Royal College of Physicians, said: “The voluntary partnerships of the drinks industry are clearly not working. Mandatory codes at this stage are essential. “I think the next step will be to tackle the heavy discounting through a minimum price for a unit of alcohol.” Mark Hastings, communications director of the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA), said the proposed rules could prevent students doing bar work during the summer holidays and could make it impossible to recruit enough staff for big sporting events, including the 2012 Olympics. “Most of these proposals are disproportionate and some are just plain daft. Every restaurant table and hotel room will need to have a detailed sensible drinking sign. Every document published by a drinks company will need to carry the sensible drinking message,” he said. This weekend The Sunday Times found bars were continuing to flout the voluntary code. At the Envy nightclub in Notting Hill, west London, groups of women were being offered free bottles of wine as part of the Crazy Sexy Cool Party promotion on Friday night. Source: Sunday Times |
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Oct 13 2008, 11:12 AM
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#2
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Always wear a clean pair of knickers, cos you never know when th
Joined: 12 March 2006
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Not meaning to be sexist here, but it DOES happen to be a medical fact that women have less tolerance for alcohol than men..... Sorry if that shakes a few PC sensibilities, but it nevertheless remains a fact, so, this is less "nanny state" in my eyes more trying to prevent people from dying from Alcohol toxicity poison or needing their stomachs pumped at the hospital, more trying to prevent spiralling violence which occurs from the "Binge Drinking" phenomenon, more trying to prevent many alcohol-fuelled "date rape" cases...
If you cant enjoy a night out without drinking to excess and acting like an idiot, well, frankly, that makes you a bit of a sad b/astard in my book.... I've always followed the sensible rule of drinking a pint of water for every two drinks you have.... Because, alcohol DEHYDRATES you funnily enough......  Something I learned the hard way in my Rave/Ecstacy days....
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Oct 23 2008, 11:04 PM
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BuzzJack Climber
Joined: 28 September 2007
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free drinks to women is actually wrong, imagine if it were free drinks to whites, straights etc.... it is discriminatory and at the moment it is against the laws for bars to discriminate on any grounds,
secondly making sure all staff are trained properly is good. I have worked in the bar industry for 10+ years, and most staff are not always fully aware that they as an individual can be prosecuted for serving short measure, serving underagers, serving drunk people etc... so official training in this is a good thing, and I don't believe it will drive casual people out of the profession, in Australia all bar staff must hold a responsible service of alcohol certificate, and it hasn't discourged people from taking bar work, in fact it has pushed up their wages as they need a certificate, and the job is only avialable to people who have sat the one day course, therefore making it slightly harder to find staff |
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Mar 14 2010, 10:50 AM
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im all clares!
Joined: 7 March 2006
Posts: 16,421 User: 5
 
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QUOTE(Hosanaa @ Mar 14 2010, 04:53 AM)  Fine !! Its informative ive deleted several of your posts as they all say this. why troll through the archieves just to post this? you will be officially warned if this continues. |
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Mar 14 2010, 05:23 PM
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BuzzJack Legend
Joined: 7 March 2006
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The predicted minimum price per unit worries me. I drink up to 70 units of Scrumpy Jack cider a week at home so would cost me more then as each can is 3 units. Well I'd have to drink less.
 Why should people like me be penalised? I don't cause trouble on street corners as I drink at home and it's spread over the week. Anyone paying the prices in pubs or clubs is stupid. Around £3 a pint for cider here, more I think. They should increase the price per unit in pubs maybe but then more and more people would just stay and drink at home. Far far cheaper to drink at home.
This post has been edited by Victor Meldrew: Mar 14 2010, 05:30 PM |
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Mar 14 2010, 11:53 PM
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 Queen of Soon
Joined: 24 May 2007
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Some of what they are on about is already in place in Scotland [Training for Bar Staff] so i assume this is England/Wales only yeah?
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Mar 15 2010, 08:54 AM
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#7
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im all clares!
Joined: 7 March 2006
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QUOTE(Victor Meldrew @ Mar 14 2010, 05:23 PM) The predicted minimum price per unit worries me. I drink up to 70 units of Scrumpy Jack cider a week at home so would cost me more then as each can is 3 units. Well I'd have to drink less. Why should people like me be penalised? I don't cause trouble on street corners as I drink at home and it's spread over the week. Anyone paying the prices in pubs or clubs is stupid. Around £3 a pint for cider here, more I think. They should increase the price per unit in pubs maybe but then more and more people would just stay and drink at home. Far far cheaper to drink at home.the solution is bloody obvious 
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Mar 15 2010, 04:06 PM
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Always wear a clean pair of knickers, cos you never know when th
Joined: 12 March 2006
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QUOTE(Victor Meldrew @ Mar 14 2010, 05:23 PM) The predicted minimum price per unit worries me. I drink up to 70 units of Scrumpy Jack cider a week at home so would cost me more then as each can is 3 units. Well I'd have to drink less. You drink 70 units of alcohol a week..? Are you a complete idiot...? Or just a bloody borderline alcoholic.....? Oh, and guess who pays for your binge drinking........ 
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Mar 15 2010, 04:46 PM
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BuzzJack Legend
Joined: 7 March 2006
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QUOTE(GRIMLY FIENDISH @ Mar 15 2010, 04:06 PM) You drink 70 units of alcohol a week..? Are you a complete idiot...? Or just a bloody borderline alcoholic.....? Oh, and guess who pays for your binge drinking........ Borderline alcoholic but I can go days without so am not physically dependant on it. I enjoy my cider though. Saw my GP today and my BP is sky-high despite being on 2 blood-pressure tablets. I have high-cholesterol and am bordering on being diabetic now. He's put me on a THIRD BP drug now and I was honest about how much I drink so he's referring me to AA but I don't want to go as I don't see I have a problem. I'm not swigging vodka and surely cider's not as bad? By the way, all you against me for being on benefits, don't worry as my Dr. says I won't live much longer at this rate as I'm a prime candidate for a fatal heart attack. This post has been edited by Victor Meldrew: Mar 15 2010, 04:52 PM |
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Mar 15 2010, 04:56 PM
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#10
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Don't slap me, cuz I'm not in the mood
Joined: 24 March 2006
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QUOTE(Victor Meldrew @ Mar 15 2010, 10:46 AM) I'm not swigging vodka and surely cider's not as bad? Cider has way more calories. A pint of Magners has 210 calories. That's over 10% of the recommended daily caloric intake in one drink. The amount of alcohol you drink is probably less of a concern than the calories you consume, hence diabetes, heart disease, etc. |
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Mar 15 2010, 04:57 PM
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DROTTNING!
Joined: 15 April 2006
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Alcohol is alcohol - if you're having 70 units a week, that's very clearly worse than swigging 10 units of vodka! :/
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Mar 15 2010, 05:13 PM
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#12
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Always wear a clean pair of knickers, cos you never know when th
Joined: 12 March 2006
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QUOTE(Tyron @ Mar 15 2010, 04:57 PM) Alcohol is alcohol - if you're having 70 units a week, that's very clearly worse than swigging 10 units of vodka! :/ Exactly... It makes absolutely no difference.... Your liver doesn't exactly differentiate between alcohol from cider and alcohol from vodka.... Chris, I really dont get you. You've got a daughter FFS, dont you actually want to be around to see her grow up, graduate from Uni, get married, have GRANDKIDS maybe...??? Jesus dude, you clearly need Rehab and drying out..... |
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Mar 15 2010, 08:00 PM
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Queen of Soon
Joined: 24 May 2007
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70units is about 1.75litres of standard strength Vodka [37.5%] and about 1.35litres of the export strength Smirnoff i got on my BA flight from LAX to LHR. [50% proof, normal ESSmirnoff is 42% iirc]
Thats a lot of alcohol. And a unit is a unit regardless of what form it comes in. A unit of Vodka is no worse than a unit of cider. [Alcohol wise] |
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Mar 16 2010, 12:17 AM
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#14
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Ego reputo vos es totus pilosus rectum
Joined: 7 March 2006
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QUOTE(Victor Meldrew @ Mar 15 2010, 04:46 PM) Borderline alcoholic but I can go days without so am not physically dependant on it. I enjoy my cider though. Saw my GP today and my BP is sky-high despite being on 2 blood-pressure tablets. I have high-cholesterol and am bordering on being diabetic now. He's put me on a THIRD BP drug now and I was honest about how much I drink so he's referring me to AA but I don't want to go as I don't see I have a problem. By the way, all you against me for being on benefits, don't worry as my Dr. says I won't live much longer at this rate as I'm a prime candidate for a fatal heart attack. And yet you don't see your drinking as a problem? There are different classes of alcoholic as far as I understand - whether you can go days or not doesn't matter - 70 units a week is a horrific amount. You are effectively downing a bottle of wine every single night. Do you not think given you are supposedly clinically depressed and close to heart attack or diabetes, that some lifestyle changes JUST MIGHT BE A GOOD IDEA? Do you actually WANT to improve yourself, or are you happy to carry on as you are for the rest of your life? I have sympathy for people who are depressed. I do not however have sympathy for people who REFUSE to do anything about their problems, and waste taxpayer money on dissolving their liver in vodka. |
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Mar 16 2010, 08:34 AM
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#15
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im all clares!
Joined: 7 March 2006
Posts: 16,421 User: 5
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QUOTE(Victor Meldrew @ Mar 15 2010, 04:46 PM) my Dr. says I won't live much longer at this rate as I'm a prime candidate for a fatal heart attack. BOO! ...... lol... how tf has this thread turned into another 'lets chat about chris' thread?
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Mar 22 2010, 07:36 AM
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#16
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livin' legend you can look but don't touch
Joined: 18 November 2007
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I definitely think the alcohol price needs putting up, it's way too cheap atm. A minimum price of £1 a unit or whatever should be introduced imo.
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Mar 22 2010, 09:33 AM
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BuzzJack Legend
Joined: 7 March 2006
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QUOTE(nickthenoodle @ Mar 22 2010, 07:36 AM) I definitely think the alcohol price needs putting up, it's way too cheap atm. A minimum price of £1 a unit or whatever should be introduced imo. That would be far too much. That would make a can of Scrumpy Jack at 3 units, £3 which is ridiculous as at present I get 4 cans for £3 in Tesco! |
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Mar 22 2010, 10:01 AM
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DROTTNING!
Joined: 15 April 2006
Posts: 63,953 User: 480
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QUOTE(Victor Meldrew @ Mar 22 2010, 09:33 AM) That would be far too much. That would make a can of Scrumpy Jack at 3 units, £3 which is ridiculous as at present I get 4 cans for £3 in Tesco! Hell, it might do your liver some good. |
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Mar 22 2010, 10:54 AM
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New Entry
Joined: 22 March 2010
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I am guilty of being a bar manager and having the two hour happy hour, and offers for ladies of buy 2 glasses of wine get the bottle instead etc, and it is simply done because more ladies in the venue mean more men. Women also get these mythical free drinks of men, come on how many times have you had a drink brought for you?? Responsibilty needs to be distributed amongst a wider range, it is just as much my fault (bar manager) as your fault (consumer) on how much you drink, having fines etc only work if they get imposed, no point saying you could be fined or arrested it actually needs to happen otherwise people won't stop getting drunk at every opportunity. Also raising the drinking age and lowering alcohol content in drinks might go some way to help.
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Mar 22 2010, 12:21 PM
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#20
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im all clares!
Joined: 7 March 2006
Posts: 16,421 User: 5
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QUOTE(nickthenoodle @ Mar 22 2010, 07:36 AM) I definitely think the alcohol price needs putting up, it's way too cheap atm. A minimum price of £1 a unit or whatever should be introduced imo. .... so a bottle of wine would be £9 minimum! the ferry/shuttle companies would be very grateful for THAT to become law! 
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