TOPIC:

While I don't personally give a shit about the potential ban on below cost selling of booze, I find it striking that everyone just assumes that it is making the binge drinking problem worse and no one has ever presented any evidence to the effect. How come the supermarkets and the offies are not pulling people up on this?

A shift from pub drinking to home drinking is not evidence of an increase in binge drinking. How come no one is pointing this out?

"sbillings":1jooeva2 wrote: A shift from pub drinking to home drinking is not evidence of an increase in binge drinking. How come no one is pointing this out?[/quote:1jooeva2]The drinks industry, for one, don't seem to believe it[/url:1jooeva2].

Get you up to that pub to dry out, you dipso.

[quote:29x62105]We can license, restrict and regulate but if we cannot get people to take personal responsibility, we are on a hiding to nothing.[/quote:29x62105]

Most sensible point made in the whole debate.

"TheBeerNut":1l1qt3a6 wrote: ]The drinks industry, for one, don't seem to believe it[/url:1l1qt3a6].[/quote:1l1qt3a6]

funnily enough the tossers that issued that report seam to over look the loads and loads of pubs that have no problem serve people a loads of pints at last orders kicked then on to the street and wash there hands of the trouble caused.

Dr Holmes sounds reasonable and thoughtful, but the question is whether he'll be listened to.

His attitude is at odds with that which we tend to see with half-cocked politically expedient measures.

The Blue Shirts have the answer[/url:3f97ylli]:
[quote:3f97ylli]The image of alcohol consumption as a “glamorous pastime” must be ended in an effort to combat Ireland’s drinking culture, Fine Gael said today.[/quote:3f97ylli]Since ICB consists entirely of such buff, finely-toned, adroitly coiffured and coutured specimens of human perfection, we're going to be first in the firing line, unfortunately.

Seriously, I think he does make some good, if rather high-pitched and squealy, points here. I don't like the creepy insistence on CCTV outside every pub, and while limiting the size of pubs is a top idea, limiting their numbers as well is just stupid. And, er, has already happened. But I like his talk on the sponsorship and advertising and I'd favour mandatory age checks at every outlet.