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All this week the BBC have been showing the perils that excess consumption of alcohol can have on health.
They have shown people who didn't consider themselves to be alcoholics or binge drinkers, but are now battling serious liver problems.
They have shown A&E units stretched to the limits by patients who have been under the influence of alcohol.....
They have shown young people(girls included) in violent episodes......all very sobering (no pun intended).
Tonight they show all these reports to the Government Minister for Health.......she wrings her hands and says that the government is very worried about this social and cultural trend to binge drink....and states that the government is in consultation with the drinks manufacturers, to decide if putting health warning on bottles will help ease the problem.
Excuse me, but weren't the government responsible for relaxing the licensing laws to extend drinking hours...what effect did they think this action would have? The phrase about horses and stable doors springs to mind.

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Margaret,
I don't feel its fair to assign all the above to relaxed drinking hours. Firstly it has shown already that A&E are less busy now than before due to less fights at closing time. Young people (I guess by this you mean teenagers) aren't affected by licensing hours as they buy it illegally in the first place.

yes there are alcoholics, there always has been and always will. In fact in middle ages people drank beer because it was safer than drinking water. They were probably all alchies but didn't have a name for it. It is clear that people with a drink problem will get/drink it irrespective of 'licensing hours'.

all these groups are minorities, we live in an age of empowerment. the rest of us are happy to kick up a fuss when things aren't what WE want yet we want to blame someone else when something doesn't go to plan.

Ian

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A teenager with their illegally bought booze aint going to heed warnings about health on a bottle. They consider themselves invincible and if the govenment is to be believed most would struggle to read health warnings. Dosnt matter what they do then to show the bad side of drink it will always be there with the result that even if A n E is lighter with drunks the chances are they are spread out the day more.

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Entwisi...the point I was trying to make (unsuccessfully it seems) was there was this government minister wringing her hands in mock anxiety that people were risking their health by acting in such a way. i know people must take some responsibility for their actions.....and I abhor the lengths that this government go to to take decisions out of our hands for our everyday living........but really didn't they expect the extra hours that people can drink would have SOME effect on the health of the population?
And by 'young people'......I meant those young people who get into drinking establishments...not necessarily the teens who obtain alcohol illegally.
Certainly the A&E that was shown didn't appear to be quieter.....in fact they had to close the doors for 2 hours to cope with the back log...most of whom had consumed alcohol (or so the Consultant in Charge said)

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And somehow it seems a bit ludicrous to me for the government to get into consultation with Drinks manufacturers to look for a solution to this problem.
That is like asking the barber whether he thinks you need a haircut.

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the people in the reports did not consider themselves to be alcoholics or binge drinkers......one chap was attending the clinic every week to alcoholic ascites(fluid) drained from his abdomen......and was waiting for a liver transplant as that is now his only hope of survival......remember this man is going to cost the NHS an awful lot of money over the next few years.
The liver specialist said they were now seeing twice as many women with severe liver problems as just a couple of years ago.
Mixed messages is what the government are sending out.......eat healthily.....we'll put folates into flour.....this will replace the ones that have been destroyed by your alcohol consumption.

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Shoot down smokers encourage drinkers weird aint it. The govenment has so many mixed up policies that everyone has lost the real meaning of some of them.

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I believe that the old licensing laws in England are totally to blame for binge drinking. If you went down to your local for a couple of pints, then met up with your mates and got into the flow, you wouldn't want to go home at half eleven. Therefore, you drank more quickly, problems developed, you begged the landlord for another one and that's when the poblems intensified. Scotland changed it's laws years ago and here in Tenerife, the only folk who binge drink are the English tourists. It's very rare to see a drunken Spanish bloke.
You only want what you can't have!

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Ironic really that Scotland has a reputation as a country of drinkers yet English tourist do far worse.

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Junetta there have always been places that you could go to that would serve you drinks after hours.....it isn't exactly the licensing laws that I'm having a pop at....but the mixed messages that this government likes to transmit. As I say it was just a bit ironic that the Government Minister for health was wringing her hands in mock concern about the 'problem'.......lengthening opening hours for folk that are already into a culture of binge drinking (whatever the cause of that is ascribed to) must be a ridiculous solution.

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rather than writing warnings on bottles etc, i think the money would be better put to use by educating children about these things at school, thats a safer bet to me as all parents definatly should (but a lot wouldnt) :mad:

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the government should never have given out to supermarkets the license to to sell alcohol, that is where your binge drinking comes from!a program on the telly tells you what they want to tell you!thats why i would throw the bloody thing through the window, these people that they are showing have supped a bottle of vodka or whatever whilst getting ready to go out!FACT.......and when they slurp a few more they are out there heads,they go and pay an entrance fee too a night club and dont drink alcohol,they drink bottled water,because they cant drink more alcohol,what entwisi said is right!crime from drink related incidents down!hospital problems down, leave the problems of the telly to them margerat its all made for people that sit in front of them!:rolleyes:

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Seems to me with central Govt. devolving more powers to the local communities it won't be long before local districts will be able to introduce Sharia law , then the alcohol problem will be solved

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While I accept what you are saying is true......this was not a programme per se......it was a news item......and it involved Caroline Flint the Government Minister for Health.......so there must be some truth in what was being said.....although I agree that certainly there is always some bias put onto these items. I do not have a problem with people who want to drink themselves into oblivion...but what i do find ironic is that this government knew of the cultural problem of binge drinking before the licensing laws were relaxed. Health advisors at the time renewed their warning of the dangers that relaxation of these laws may create. And I do not believe for one moment that drink related crime is down...or for that matter that alcohol related admissions to casualty units are down.
The only benefits that may have been accrued as a result of the relaxation of the licensing laws are those to the Chancellors coffers.

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Does anybody seriously think that putting warnings on booze packaging will deter one single person anywhere? Yet another gimmick by this shoddy, mediocre government, anxious to be seen to be doing something, but, as always, taking the easy way out and doing nothing. Pathetic!

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Im a "young girl" and yes i do go out but believe me or not i dont drink, i drink orange juice or bottled water. im glad to say im not in any of them statistics, everytime i go out i have a fantastic night i dance and have a laugh, i dont see why other people dont try it, but when i ask people if they would do it, they give me the same answer "ooooo i couldnt ive been working all week i deserve a drink" for that person to get blindly runk and complain the next day. er hello i work all week and i deserve a drink but i choose not too. i have the last laugh when everyone around me is drunk and falling over and being sick and getting into a fight or talking gobbaldygook, im fine even the day after i can look at my food without being sick. Yes ive drunk before and got drunk but i know when to stop and yes ive had my fair share of hangovers but i think its more up to the person to know when theyve had enough.
I work in a nightclub and the amount of people ive refused because there drunk is unbelievable they get escorted of the premises, no i dont feel bad doing this because its there own fault.
I also think its alot to do with competition between pubs and clubs, they put the prices down and have certain theme nights just to get people in with them putting prices down people drink a hell of alot more thinking the price is going to go back up.
the other day i served a man who must have been in his 30's (take note not a young person) who ordered 20 shots of sambuca, there was a big party of men and each shot cost 2.00. The club i work has alot of 25-30 year old going in and they drink like no tomorrow, so its just not young ones.
also my house i can guarantee every night someone will always after last orders has gone ask for another drink. even though theyve been there since like dinner time? or maybe 8 o clock? i blame the person whos drinking if they dont know when to stop then its there own silly fault.

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Baby boo you are to be applauded for your common sense approach to alcohol...live long and prosper.......oh and age is relative......to me those 25-30yr olds ARE young people :)

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BB shows that younger drinkers can go out without getting bevied up and dont bow to peer pressure.

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Relaxed drinking laws? 24 boozers? where are they? does anyone know of a pub thats opened 24 hours? when this law was introduced the press jumped all over it, saying the streets would be full of lager louts 24/7.. the old licencing law was pathetic. Just an example, if you got to the cinema and leave after 10 and you fancy a drink ,its a struggle even getting to the bar,and then your guzzling your drink down to get another before the bell!

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You can buy alcohol at the 24 hour supermarkets though.

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I used to drink, if I had done an 8 or 12 hour shift with little food consumed I would be drunk off 3 bottles of not very strong lager! If I hadn't been working I could drink 10 bottles before feeling the effects.

What put me off alcohol was when I was a landlady in Salford I used to look at the customers and think 'do I look like that'? So if I go out now I stick with soft drinks I have just as much fun but none of the suffering the day after.

You would think educating kids about the effects of alcohol, not only what it does to your liver, but the damage caused to wives husbands kids e.t.c. by people who have been violent 'because' of booze, might help but it didn't really stop kids smoking nor drink drivers. So I don't really think that would work. I do think the more you tell people NOT to do something the more they WILL do it

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Not up here whicj is a pity!

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There is even a local booze supplier who will bring the booze to your house when the pubs are shut...so if you are having a party and the drinks run out you can give them a call with your order and they will deliver.

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Could have done with something like that last night it would have been cheaper than my session. :o