Comments on: Much rather be drinking anyway

By: senn

senn — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 11:55:41 +0000

Alcoholism is a major problem in modern culture. Each has there own liberty of course which the Liberals promote. Standing on doors for years I see how pathetic people are when they are drunk and unruly. Drunkeness and binge drinking provide a temporary psychosis, a self poisoning metaphor, an intoxicating malaise of stupidity.
There is nothing like lucidity! Nothing like winning a scrap fair and square with a yapping , jibbering fool! Picking up afterwards and telling him what he is doing is wrong. Not just to himself but to the culture we live in.

By: Uncivilised binge drink (because I drink Stella in the daytime, see)

Uncivilised binge drink (because I drink Stella in the daytime, see) — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 08:52:18 +0000

However, as good as the comments on licensing etc are, they miss the point that THESE PLACES WILL NOT BE AFFECTED. Alcohol in these places is expensive. It’s the 24 cans bulkbuys in the supermarket that are the issue. Unless the BMA are lying about how much they plan to charge,

By: Civilised binge drinker (because I drink red wine on the terrace, you see)

Civilised binge drinker (because I drink red wine on the terrace, you see) — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 14:42:50 +0000

Interesting that I saw a piece on the news that in order to ‘curb’ binge drinking, one council had introduced a whole raft of measures such as no standing at the bar, an orderly queing system (policed by security guards) and a minimum security presence, and CCTVs. Certain large bars will be required to introduce these measures if they want to keep their licence.

I forget which council it was, but somewhere in Lancashire I think

Anyway, the whole approach seems to be wrong… I mean if we’re trying to introduce some kind of cafe culture, mainland European, civilised drinking type situation (whatever the fuck that means), wuold it not be better to introduce table service perhaps?

Just a thought. But one thing is for sure, turning bars into some kind of military zone won’t achieve that aim.

By: Matt O'Grady

Matt O'Grady — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 13:54:37 +0000

I’d agree that there should be quieter places available, although I am not sure how this would best be achieved.

Too often on a night out I find that the only places are open have loud music, and sometimes that just isn’t what I’m after. Unfortunately it seems that this is what the majority want or I’m sure such place would exist. I guess we are forgetting that the aim of such places is, at the end of the day, to shift as much of their products as possible in order to make a profit. A pub that is open all day has longer to attempt to do this than a club that is only open from 10pm until 3am for example. While a pub can sit back and wait for people to drink slowly, a club wants them to drink as quickly as possible.

By: Ewan Hoyle

Ewan Hoyle — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 13:18:53 +0000

I think it’s the licensing laws that need to be looked at rather than pricing. The bars that dominate our cities these days all encourage binge drinking through special offers and the volume of their music. Scientists have found that the amount of drink consumed can be reduced by a fifth if the volume of the music is at a sensible level that allows conversation. Drinking should be returned to what it should be, a social lubricant. For too many people, the only means of entertaining themselves in a bar is to drink competitively and laugh at how much of a state their friends get into. If the volume of the music were reduced they could actually talk to each other and perhaps find entertainment that way.

http://ewansliberalmusings.blogspot.com/2009/08/proper-solution-to-binge-drinking-based.html

By: Ben

Ben — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 12:14:31 +0000

It is also just ineffective policy. If the aim is to reduce drinking levels, then the minimum unit price needs to be high in order to actually dissuade people from buying cheap alcohol (and bear in mind here that the price for alcoholics is likely to be highly inelastic) or the policy won’t work. A low price of say 40 or 50p a unit simply won’t have the desired effect because it is barely higher than the cost of most drinks now other than the supermarket lossleaders.

People who claim that this won’t deter casual drinkers are either not grasping basic economic theory or are misleading us as to how high they plan the cost to be.