Comments on: The Danger Of Passive Drinking… Wait…What…? http://brucegarrett.com/brucelog/1285 Bruce Garrett's Weblog. Essays and musings on my life and my world. Wed, 16 May 2012 22:55:56 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9 hourly 1 By: Tavdy http://brucegarrett.com/brucelog/1285/comment-page-1#comment-59070 Tavdy Wed, 23 Apr 2008 07:52:20 +0000 http://brucegarrett.com/brucelog/1285#comment-59070 If you've ever been in a British town or city centre in the small hours of a Saturday or Sunday morning then you'd probably think they may have a point. It's widely seen as acceptable - or even admirable - for both men and women to drink as much as possible, even to the point of being paralytic. As a result the UK has one of the world's highest and fastest-increasing rates of alcohol-related violent crime - typically assault, though murder and rape are both increasing as well. Police forces are spending increasing amounts on dealing with drinkers over the weekend. Likewise A&E (British ER) departments are increasingly focussing their resources on Saturday and Sunday mornings when, alongside increasing numbers of assault victims, they're seeing increasing numbers of people being brought in with alcohol poisoning. Many doctors foresee the UK having the world's highest rate of Cirrhosis of the Liver within a few years. All this is despite the UK having some of the highest rates of tax on alcohol in the world - a drink in London can cost anywhere from £2.50 to £15 ($5 to $30) though they're usually around the £4 to £5 ($8 to $10) mark. A night out can easily cost over £100 ($200) for drinks alone, and many will pay out several times that amount. Personally I don't think there will ever be anything as draconian as the Prohibition happen in Europe, but I do think that laws are likely to be tightened in the near future. If you’ve ever been in a British town or city centre in the small hours of a Saturday or Sunday morning then you’d probably think they may have a point. It’s widely seen as acceptable – or even admirable – for both men and women to drink as much as possible, even to the point of being paralytic.

As a result the UK has one of the world’s highest and fastest-increasing rates of alcohol-related violent crime – typically assault, though murder and rape are both increasing as well. Police forces are spending increasing amounts on dealing with drinkers over the weekend. Likewise A&E (British ER) departments are increasingly focussing their resources on Saturday and Sunday mornings when, alongside increasing numbers of assault victims, they’re seeing increasing numbers of people being brought in with alcohol poisoning. Many doctors foresee the UK having the world’s highest rate of Cirrhosis of the Liver within a few years.
All this is despite the UK having some of the highest rates of tax on alcohol in the world – a drink in London can cost anywhere from £2.50 to £15 ($5 to $30) though they’re usually around the £4 to £5 ($8 to $10) mark. A night out can easily cost over £100 ($200) for drinks alone, and many will pay out several times that amount.
Personally I don’t think there will ever be anything as draconian as the Prohibition happen in Europe, but I do think that laws are likely to be tightened in the near future.

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