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Cheap Booze to be outlawed


Thedelldays
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I like this bit:-

 

He is set to suggest the use of US-inspired "drunk tanks", cells to house people overnight while they sober up.

 

ffs, does this Government have any ideas of its own? And why would we use the US as a model for anything, as this lot continue to do? Another fine notion they've snaffled from over the pond is people working for free to get state benefits - y'know - the one that is killing overtime for part-time workers across the land and keeping the number of real jobs very low at a time of rising unemployment.

 

The US has literally nothing to teach us about creating a functional society. I'm at a loss to why the Conservatives seem to view their broken ideas as a panacea for resolving issues in the UK.

 

Here's an idea. Why not actually get to the bottom of why people drink so much in this country before taking any action?

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''Good... sick an tired of pavement pizza, shouting and screeming in the street, brawls, drunken ****s in the streets... is this really what we want from out glorious nation''

 

Avid reader of the Mail

 

 

 

Seriously, lack of cheap booze wont stop the 'ugly city nightlife' - the hoards of drunken, arseholes, slappers and vomit, but it might reduce the frequency simply through reducing the means. NOt sure what the answer is to addressing the booze culture of Britain - most too stupid to be educated.

 

However, removing the ability of the super markets to supply booze as loss leaders - might just might save some pubs from going out of business which is a good thing.

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I want to think these people are intelligent enough to think through such plans, but alcohol policy never convinces me. Surely the key is to look at the reasons for heavy drinking not just try to cut supply. A huge number of people feeling the need to get hammered to enjoy anything is far more of a problem than a few fights and vomity pavements.

 

My theory is that we're too reserved for our own good. People bottle up far too much, and need some form of release.

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booze isn't cheap though, it effing expensive. getting on for £4 a pint.

 

This legislation will not effect your £4 pint, the proposal will be a minimum price per unit which will in effect outlaw super market deals on cans and probably some of the really nasty value brand spirints and white lightning type cider. If anything it could have a positive impact on pub prices as more people might be inclined to go to the local instead of drinking cheap can's at home before going out like some rabid pikeys.

 

Sadly it's onlt the first step and I would expect to see booze attacked like fags were with ever increasing taxation afterall the government needs to make up for falling revenue from petrol and fags somewhere, expect to see a proliferation in homebrewing!

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Sadly it's onlt the first step and I would expect to see booze attacked like fags were with ever increasing taxation afterall the government needs to make up for falling revenue from petrol and fags somewhere, expect to see a proliferation in homebrewing!

It also helps to make up for the fact that many people who enjoy fags and booze then expect the NHS to sort them out when it leads to health issues. IMO, the government should focus more on making NHS treatment chargeable where it can be demonstrated that the illness was caused by drink/drugs/fags etc.

 

People need to take responsibility for themselves. If you wanna drink and smoke, that's fine, but take responsibility for the consequences.

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Taking intoxicants for pleasure, leisure and sacrement is the native tradition of pretty much every culture in the world. A goverment oversteps its remit when it outlaws the private consumption of intoxicants, particularly naturally occurring ones. The only effective intoxicant currently available to the people of this country is alcohol. Can it be any great surprise that people drink too much?

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It also helps to make up for the fact that many people who enjoy fags and booze then expect the NHS to sort them out when it leads to health issues. IMO, the government should focus more on making NHS treatment chargeable where it can be demonstrated that the illness was caused by drink/drugs/fags etc.

 

People need to take responsibility for themselves. If you wanna drink and smoke, that's fine, but take responsibility for the consequences.

 

Bit short-sighted Minty, especially on the old smoking bit.

 

From a public purse perspective, smokers paying the correct duty on cigs are heroes. They pay extra tax every day, and normally pop their clogs a great deal earlier, therefore not spending decades of unproductive life collecting cash from the state.

 

Even in the US, which has a much lower rate of taxation on a pack of 20, smokers are a net gain to the economy. Here in the UK, the government made 11 billion UKP from smokers between 2010-2011. Estimates for UK spending on treating smoking-related health conditions are 2.4 billion ( although some studies put it as high as 5.4 billion ). This doesn't even factor in the money we're not paying for pensions, social services for the elderly, etc.

 

So yeah, while I agree with you that people need to accept the consequences of their actions, smokers are fully covering their cost on society through taxation - and then some.

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It also helps to make up for the fact that many people who enjoy fags and booze then expect the NHS to sort them out when it leads to health issues. IMO, the government should focus more on making NHS treatment chargeable where it can be demonstrated that the illness was caused by drink/drugs/fags etc.

 

People need to take responsibility for themselves. If you wanna drink and smoke, that's fine, but take responsibility for the consequences.

 

Agree 100%, but only if we extend it to people who eat badly, partake in sport, have car accidents that can be proved it is their fault, and people who have any injury/illness where one facet can be attributed to something in their control.

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always the ordinary person that gets hit.

 

Ever notice how its "cheap" air travel that they claim is damaging the environment? its not the expensive type that the rich used to enjoy.

 

Same with booze. There is a bad drink culture in this country, but the upper middle classes are as bad as anyone. Doctors have a notoriously high alcoholism rate, something that presumably impacts on their ability to do their jobs.Don't hear much about that particular problem.

 

This is a great scheme to have a pop at ordinary people, and raise tax at the same time.

 

Typical manipulative government.

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always the ordinary person that gets hit.

 

Ever notice how its "cheap" air travel that they claim is damaging the environment? its not the expensive type that the rich used to enjoy.

 

Same with booze. There is a bad drink culture in this country, but the upper middle classes are as bad as anyone. Doctors have a notoriously high alcoholism rate, something that presumably impacts on their ability to do their jobs.Don't hear much about that particular problem.

I'm not sure I've ever met an 'ordinary' person, but I do kinda agree with your sentiment. Key thing is to recognise the root causes of a problem, not to try and put a sticking plaster (even if it is a tax-generating sticking plaster) over the symptoms.

 

I guess from their point of view, they think that by putting prices up slightly, it takes alcohol out of reach of some of those who abuse it, but if people want it, people will get it. It's faulty logic at best.

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We all probably think the same. I think I am, you think you are, but we all have different circumstances, commitments, outgoings etc, and these things affect us all differently, that was all I was saying. It's like when the tv news channels tell us how the chancellors budget will affect the 'average household'!

 

That said, I partly agree with your point - the vast majority of people who drink alcohol can do so responsibly and so will be 'punished' by this. But then again, in some respects this probably won't change a lot. If I'm buying alcohol in a supermarket or grocery store, I buy what I like, not what is cheapest, so it won't really affect me that much because what I buy is only on offer once or twice a year. And dare I say it, that's probably going to be true for a lot of 'ordinary' people. ;)

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Great idea. Binge drinking is one of Britain's major problems; particularly amongst the young and the working class. Fixing the prices of all drinks would undoubtedly make people drink less.

 

I doubt that somehow,they'd just do what we did when we were students, get loaded up on home-brew and home made wine before hitting the pubs and clubs.Result is still the same except that it costs you less.A couple of snorts of Parsnip Wine made even London beer taste respectable.

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People are really dim if they think there won't be fights etc. in the street because people have to pre-drink less. The worst state I was ever in was from when I started in a pub and was doing different shots all night.

This is the first small step on the road to prohibition (although I'm not suggesting for a second that's where the government are heading with this).

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I don't think this will help in the slightest. One of the things I dislike most about Britain is the alcohol culture. I've been around a lot of European countries and most people can generally enjoy a few social drinks in moderation without overdoing it. In Britain it seems to be some kind of achievement to get incapacitated on alcohol.

 

Take the Pompey game for example. People were off to the pubs at 8am to get the beers in before getting on the bubble. Seriously, 8am? The last thing I feel like doing at 8am is getting smashed. Personally I have 3 or 4 pints on a Saturday afternoon because I'm at the football and if I'm not I don't bother drinking. A lot of people seem to drink for the sake of drinking.

 

I don't get "pre-drinks" either. The concept of sharing a bottle of vodka around before going on a night out so as to get hammered cheaply before heading out into town. I go out with friends to have a good time and have a few drinks whilst I'm at it. I've never gone out with the sole purpose of getting hammered.

 

Sadly there is no real way of changing people's cultural perceptions, so I doubt any laws will change things in the near future.

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