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Friday, 29th August 2008

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Tough measures are what alcohol abuse requires



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IN SETTING out to tackle Scotland's binge-drinking culture, the Holyrood administration needed to be bold, and the consultation paper unveiled yesterday well measures up to that need. Grocers will baulk at the proposals to ban anyone under the age of 21 from buying alcohol in supermarkets and off-licences, while legal problems surround the plan to set a minimum price at which a unit of alcohol will be sold.
It is useful to remember how we have arrived at such a set of measures. Binge drinking is a symptom of a deeper malaise. The annual cost of alcohol misuse in Scotland is estimated at £2.25 billion, with alcohol- related deaths more than doubling in t...



The full article contains 512 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
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1

it has always been allan,

18/06/2008 07:32:02
why should the tax payer fund any scheme like this.

just hike the tax on alcohol. Brown is good at that anyway.

Nobody drank that much if they had to go to an off licence.

Anybody is influenced by their pocket money.
2

Alberto.,

18/06/2008 12:50:48
Tougher measures will not help - smaller ones might, yet they fight away from a 'No' measure at all policy and ban the stuff!

Were the Politicals downing a few 'Wee Drams' (supplied free of course by the beloved taxpayer!!)while making these 'earth shattering decisions' - or did they draw something 'out of a hat' as time was pressing, and the bar was open???
3

Guga II,

Rockall 18/06/2008 14:35:07
"It is useful to remember how we have arrived at such a set of measures".

Yes, indeed, it is useful to remember how we arrived at this latest proposed joke legislation.

The reason is that the government don't make use of exisiting legislation. There are plenty of laws available to allow them to control drunken neds in the streets, and underage drinking. These laws should be enforced.

As for so-called "children", i.e. anyone under the age of 18, if we insist on treating them as children, then we need to make their parents fully responsible for their children's actions. There is nothing to stop the government fining or gaoling the parents of drunken or violent wee neds. There is also nothing to stop the government from bringing back borstals for the worst of the wee neds.

As for anyone that buys booze for underage people, they should be heavily fined, and gaoled for repeat offences. Regarding shops that sell booze to the underaged, not only should they be fined, but they should lose their licence for repeat offences.

To put it in a nutshell, forget about penalising ordinary people for the actions of the few. Enforce existing legislation.

Are you paying attention Kenny MacAskill?


 

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