This week Cameron was on the case of the cost burden alcohol missuse puts on the NHS (here). Hardly a new story, first mentioned on this blog back in September 2009.
I understand many countries have considered 'minimum pricing', but only Scotland seems to going ahead with it. I'm not convinced it will work. I don't doubt increasing price will reduce the sales of alcohol, but that is different to cutting excessive drinking.
Problem drinkers largely fall in to two categories, dependant drinkers and binge drinkers.
Dependant drinkers are those who can't function without alcohol, The day starts with a drink and revolves around drink. They'll drink all the money they have, and after that borrow, beg or steal to get the next drink. It is that third reason (steal) that makes minimum pricing a bit pointless. If you have no intention of paying for something the price ticket is hardly going to put you off. These drinkers need treatment, how you get a someone who is drunk by 9.00am and has no fixed abode and spends much of their time unsure of what day it is to attend an appointment they don't want to go to, is of course another matter.
It is the binge drinker that perhaps causes a greater burden. Binge drinkers don't drink during the day, mnay go weeks without drinking, but when they do, they drink a lot. Although they increase the risk of getting the liver problems and stomach cancers in the future, it is the fights and accidents that see A&E fill up on a friday and saturday night that put extra pressure on the NHS.
Most binge drinkers are in employment, often well paid and drink until all the bars are closed or they can no longer walk to the bar. And by going to the town centre bars they're paying more that the minimum pricing is likely to be.
So how do you solve binge drinking? I doubt there is only one answer, but perhaps part of the solution lies in this very blog?
If it takes the body an hour to deal with a unit of alcohol, the speed at which people drink is an important factor.
Most people have sat up all night drinking and playing cards at some point, and into the early hours, are still able to play. Why? because you have the cards in your hand and you're talking to those around you. Without noticing, you're drinking much slower and therefore your body is not getting so poisioned by the alcohol enabling you to make sensible decisions.
Contrast this with a night in any city centre. Music full blast so proper conversations are out. No seating or table so you can't put your drink down. The very clever breweries have removed every possible barrier between you and your drink, so you get through it faster and get another. And lets face it, the brewery wants your money as quickly as possible.
Now most people have some idea of their limit, that little nagging voice telling you to get a taxi or start the walk home, but when you're dinking fast it is harder to notice when the limit has been reached, especially if you hit the spirits, the time between 'enough' and 'black out' can get very short. And there's the peer pressure, if you've agreed to go out until 2.00am, you're not likely to tell your friends you're done at 10.00pm because you drank too much too soon. No, you'll drink some more and you've just entered 'binge world' and at great risk of causing or suffering harm. And although people are responsible for their own actions and choices, you can see how young adults, perhaps newer to drinking can be sucked in.
So is it the extended licensing hours? Probably not, after all the whole point in them was to create the continental 'cafe culture', where people will take their time with a drink rather than have to rush as many pints down before the bell rang at 11.00. Sadly the British bar can't or won't create this environment.
In the old days the trick was to sell nuts, crisps and pork scratchings over the bar, as we all know salty foods make you thirsty, and pubs want thirsty customers. Now we have gone for the noise to stop you talking, less seats to stop you sitting etc and created 'drunk' factories.
The government need to revist licencing law. Perhaps a noise level limit for music, or time limit on loud music, perhaps bars should have to offer 'quiet rooms', perhaps capacity should be limited to the number of seats you have, who knows?
What I am certain is, the financial greed of bars and clubs are a big cause of the binge drinking culture that strains our emergency services and costs you, the tax payer, billions every year.
Latest figures appear to show sales of alcohol in decline, not just since the 2008 crash, as you would have expected, but since 2004. It is worth noting that youth unemployment has been on the increase since 2001 so may be a factor.
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