I'll drink to that.

Margaret Pilkington · 13-04-2006, 19:02

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.

entwisi · 13-04-2006, 19:18

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

joobyjooby · 13-04-2006, 19:21

Mad all of um!....they'll be putting health warnings on pub doors next.....warning!!....entering this pub may cause serious health problems....enter at your own risk!...Ah! dont we all ......

talentedbutslow · 13-04-2006, 19:27

I blame it on all the coach works do,s to BLackpool.....with the crates of brown ale down the back of the coach....

Busman747 · 13-04-2006, 19:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by talentedbutslow

I blame it on all the coach works do,s to BLackpool.....with the crates of brown ale down the back of the coach....

I weren't driving - HONEST

SPUGGIE J · 13-04-2006, 19:48

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.

Margaret Pilkington · 13-04-2006, 20:10

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)

Margaret Pilkington · 13-04-2006, 20:12

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.

Margaret Pilkington · 13-04-2006, 20:21

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.

SPUGGIE J · 13-04-2006, 20:34

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.

junetta · 13-04-2006, 20:35

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!

SPUGGIE J · 13-04-2006, 20:38

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

Margaret Pilkington · 13-04-2006, 20:54

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.

cashman · 13-04-2006, 23:23

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)

staggeringman · 14-04-2006, 00:32

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!