Britain Still in Northern Europe
- posted by Jim Leitzel @ 3:51 PM

When the UK allowed pubs, at local discretion, to stay open after 11PM, one of the goals was to end the practice of the simultaneous exodus of hordes of young, well, yobs from city centre bars, fighting and generally wronging the ancientry. (The yobs showed enough foresight to realise that they needed to down a few pints quickly if they hoped to get the full effect before the 11PM close.) Sometimes there was a somewhat broader goal mentioned, that of converting the British beer and spirits, binge-drinking culture (one that is not atypical of Northern climes) into the wine sipping, gentler drinking ways of Southern Europe. That broader goal, well, still needs some work. Nevertheless, the fears that the loss of mandatory closing hours would lead to a significant increase in alcohol-related problems have not come to fruition, either:

What is striking about the change is what a small effect it has had. In a way, this is not surprising, because the number of applications for extended hours has been smaller than expected. The main effect has been to move some of the alcohol-related trouble from the "unhappy hour" after 11pm to the early hours of the morning. This is precisely what some police chiefs wanted when they supported the legislation, as the concentration of chaos in a synchronised moment of fighting and puking presented them with a logistical challenge. But it is hardly a great step forward in the social health of the nation that some of our misery is a little more thinly spread.

Just last week the British Medical Association issued a report blaming longer opening hours for increased alcohol-related problems; the timing was somewhat unfortunate, as the Association is currently pursuing an application to extend the hours during which it can serve alcohol at its headquarters.

Labels: alcohol, Britain, closing hours

 
Arizona's Later Closing Time After Six Months
- posted by Jim Leitzel @ 2:25 PM

A little more than six months ago Arizona changed its closing time laws, allowing alcohol to be sold until 2AM instead of the previous 1AM, and allowing bars to remain open until 2:30 instead of 1:15. When the bill was signed, the Governor asked for an evaluation of the new system after six months, and that evaluation has now been produced. The still-quite-preliminary verdict: "A law that delayed Arizona's cutoff for alcohol sales to 2 a.m. has shifted when many DUI arrests and alcohol-related crashes take place but has not increased their numbers, two state agencies say in new reports."

Labels: alcohol, Arizona, closing hours, driving

 
More Bad News for British Alcohol Liberalisation
- posted by Jim Leitzel @ 4:47 PM

Yesterday Vice Squad noted that opposition was mounting to the impending liberalisation of hours restrictions on alcohol sales in Britain. Today's story from the BBC about the number of people who end up in hospital accident and emergency rooms from alcohol-related problems adds a log to the anti-liberalisation fire:

Researchers from St George's Hospital Medical School in London found four in 10 [weekend] admissions were alcohol-related, rising to seven in 10 after midnight.

And lead researcher Professor Colin Drummond has warned the introduction of 24-hour drinking would make the situation worse.

So far, though, the British government is sticking with its liberalisation plan.

Labels: alcohol, Britain, closing hours

 
British Opening Hours Liberalisation Under Threat
- posted by Jim Leitzel @ 5:45 PM

In early February, Britain is scheduled to allow alcohol sellers to stay open 24-hours. Part of the rationale for the change is to prevent the simultaneous spilling of drunks onto the streets at the common closing time of multiple pubs. The slated loosening of the hours controls, however, is attracting more opposition as the implementation date (February 7) draws near, including opposition from MPs and from police. Today's Guardian calls for a go-slow approach, via some pilot programs in a few towns. Sounds like a reasonable suggestion to me.

Labels: alcohol, Britain, closing hours

 
Hurricane Preparation: Bottled Water, Flashlights, Alcohol
- posted by Jim Leitzel @ 1:01 PM

Indian River County in Florida ordered alcohol and firearms stores to close when hurricane Frances swept through. Folks aren't going to get caught short this time, though, according to this article at TCPalm.com (registration required). Here's an excerpt:

[there were hundreds who] flocked to the ABC Fine Wine & Spirits liquor store in the Miracle Mile Plaza Friday to stock up on alcohol because the County Commission has banned the sales of alcohol and firearms, effective 8 p.m. today.

Indian River County's alcohol and firearms ban lasted almost two weeks after Hurricane Frances swept through the Treasure Coast. And with Hurricane Jeanne's winds expected to be stronger, many residents are not taking any chances when it comes to their favorite drinks.

"It is common to see sales of more than $100 from each customer. We are selling alcohol by the case," said Suzanne Savini, store manager at the liquor store. "We just got a shipment in (Friday morning) and people are buying just about everything."

Labels: alcohol, closing hours

 
Alcohol Updates
- posted by Jim Leitzel @ 5:17 PM

(1) Alcohol controls have been significantly tightened in Aboriginal areas of Australia in recent months, as the loyal Vice Squad reader knows. In some places, the amounts of alcohol that can be stored at home are limited. But even stricter rules went into effect today in an Aboriginal region in the Australian northeast. Here's a brief excerpt from this Scotsman.com article: "Under the new restrictions, people can carry only one carton, or 24 cans, of light to mid-strength beer and two litres (4.23 pints) of wine in their cars on each journey, and are forbidden from stockpiling alcohol at home."

(2) Arizona has officially adopted a law changing the hour of its "last call for alcohol.". In a few months time, bars and restaurants will be able to serve alcohol until 2AM, with patrons allowed to continue imbibing until 2:30. The old time limits were 1AM for sales and 1:15 for consumption. Vice Squad has previously examined some of the reasoning behind the change.

(3) OK, this one is not an update, in that Vice Squad hasn't mentioned it before. More than 100 students at Ball State University were arrested at the beginning of this month during a crackdown on underage drinking. (For one raid on a fraternity house party, the town (Muncie, Indiana) mayor joined the raiding party.) Now their court dates are upon us, and many of the students are contesting the charges. One student who pleaded not guilty indicated (in the linked article) that she was afraid a conviction would prevent her from getting a job as a teacher after graduation. While Vice Squad has not mentioned the Ball State contretemps in the past, I have lamented the unreasonably high drinking age in the US, and in February noted a similar development at the University of South Dakota.

Labels: alcohol, Australia, closing hours, teens