Drinking controls now put in place

Brian Donaldson • Published 25 Feb 2010 09:49 0 Comments

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Public houses have been wrongly targeted so many times as a cause of irresponsible drinking that they feel victimised.

However the drinks industry has been very much getting its house in order and new initiatives are aimed at making it less likely for someone to get drunk in the pub.

Statistics now show that pubs only account for 25 per cent of alcohol consumed, so the big problem is in the home or on the street.

And it appears the majority of cases of binge drinking and under-age drinking are outside the pub environment.

This poses a problem for all the agencies involved in keeping alcoholic consumption under control.

Local vintners who are part of the Federation of Retail Licensed Trade work in harmony with the police and other agencies to ensure responsible drinking takes place within their public houses, a controlled environment. The Federation is leading the way in promoting the responsible sale of alcohol and ensuring the moral responsibility to ensure that alcohol is sold and consumed in a responsible way. They also work hard to prevent alcohol abuse. Now they have joined the police and drink suppliers to draw up a set of retailing standards which will be overseen by an independent complaints panel.

Under-age drinking is one of the worst scourges with young people below the legal age faking IDs or getting irresponsible adults to purchase alcohol for them which they then consume in an uncontrolled environment.

It's a worrying trend that alcohol now accounts for around 80 per cent of cases appearing in our courts.

There is a heavy price to pay for irresponsible alcohol consumption, not only socially, but in terms of resultant criminal damage arising from unwanton behaviour.

This article appeared in Impartial Reporter 25 Feb 10

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