How do we know that the sky is not green and we are all color blind? ~Author Unknown
The British government has banned drinking contests in bars and forced pub owners to offer customers tap water to drink. Doctors and health lobbyists said that the government had not imposed minimum price controls on alcohol.
Carys Davis, spokeswoman for Alcohol Concern, a British charity, said that the new measures are “better than nothing” in the fight to control the growth of binge drinking.
Alcohol consumption has become a political issue in Britain over the past few years. Government data shows that the country’s alcohol-related deaths have doubled since 1991. In 2009, Chief Medical Officer Liam Donaldson suggested price controls could lead to nearly 100,000 fewer hospital admissions and 45.000 fewer crimes each year.
Home Secretary Alan Johnson said that he had not ruled out minimum pricing, but he didn’t want to penalize “responsible drinkers on low incomes.” The new rules need to be voted on by members of Parliament. The rules would ban speed-drinking contests and all-you-can-drink offers in pubs. Pubs would be required to offer drinks in smaller amounts and free water.
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