The Big Questions

I have been watching The Big Questions today on BBC and I am in all too familiar territory with what has been said.

Let me deal with some of the issues that came about from that and other questions that have been posed

1. Drinking hours are too long and our pubs open too late


During the The Great War David Lloyd George and the government brought in a law that restricted drinking hours in the United Kingdom. Much has been written about this and much of it is nonsense however this was a compromise act to prevent those in Lloyd George's own circle from pushing full blown prohibition upon the British society. The military were acutely aware that if soldiers were denied alcohol whilst on leave that it could lead to a rise in those deserting or mutinying, or even worse revolutions occurring as in Russia in 1917.  Many will know of his Welsh connections however Lloyd George was born in England but raised in Wales and influenced heavily by Chapel. It is this connection like the religious right in the US that were pushing for all out bans on alcohol. Now we know that prohibition didn't work but neither really did the idea of restrictions. It was common place at last orders for several pints to be lined up upon the bar and downed quite quickly in the 'supping up' time. The restriction on drinking also contributed to the speed at which we consume alcohol. The average Briton consumes around 3 pints per hour in rate of drinking and this has come about from the direct regulation of drinking time. The argument that pubs closing earlier would prevent all night drinking is unfounded because in the 'Good Old Days' drinkers would fill up before they left the pub and then head on down to the night clubs where drinking could continue to around 2am. It is interesting to note that where drinking times are most liberalised throughout the world then least trouble occurs except where the British are visiting.

2. Minimum pricing is bound to stop alcoholism


The law of supply and demand is one of the oldest economic realities in this world. The only reason why alcohol has become so relatively cheap in the UK supermarkets is because of the booze cruise. In the 1980's and 90's it was quite a common sight to see the ferry terminals at Dover and Folkestone crammed with vehicles on day trips to Calais and Boulogne hoping to buy cheap wine, beer and spirits. At the time both Tesco and Sainsbury's opened up stores at the French ports so as to hopefully catch the British trade. European law means that it is not illegal to import alcohol into the UK if it is for personal use. The loss leading spirit's promotions by the big retailers are merely a knock on effect of this. If you increase the price then someone will supply at a cheaper cost. That is the reality. The only way that minimum pricing would work in our society now is by a complete pull out of Europe preventing a move back to wholesale booze cruising. Even then this is only going to hit the moderate drinker because as I have clearly articulated on this site many times a true alcoholic will not consider money a barrier to alcohol just as a heroin addict will do anything to pay for the next injection.

3. Ban alcohol advertising

The term soap opera came about because of the great soap wars in the United States between Unilever and Proctor and Gamble. Each would sponsor a rival daytime television drama so as to push their own form of soap powder on the unsuspecting US public. Product placement as it was known was banned in Britain so generic advertising took place by setting UK ongoing dramas (I know the producers hate the word soaps) around the public house. It is noticeable that Doctors, Casualty and Holby City dramas that fit into this category of TV do not often get rewarded at the awards ceremonies yet the big guns of Coronation Street, Eastenders, Emmerdale and Hollyoaks do. Whilst I am a great lover of conspiracy theories this seems odd to me. Could it be that the former are set around hospitals but the latter around pubs? One survey about the popularity of branding in the UK asked people to name common brands of beer. Whilst John Smiths came out as the most well known brand Newton and Ridley came second. It is ironical to think that if Boddingtons' the brewery close to the Coronation Street set  were to brew an ale called Newton and Ridley they would probably outsell their own famous yellow brand. Banning advertising will have some impact upon  recognition of brand but until we demolish the Rovers Return, Queen Vic, Woolpack and Dog on the Pond then the likelyhood of preventing alcohol problems this way is limited.

4. Culture Shift

Love him or hate him but the only one who really was talking sense on The Big Questions was Lembik Opik. The way to stop alcohol problems is to bring in culture shift and this is not an overnight solution. I have talked long and hard on this blog about culture shift in relation to alcohol and that really only comes back to one thing, education.  We need to inspire our children not to take up the ways of our elders and we need to show them that there is a better solution for happiness that necking 20 alcopops or a bottle of vodka before they eve reach the pub. Culture shift will never come about through restriction all that ultimately leads to is revolution. We want to live in a grown up society but are we capable of living in a grown up society. I like to think that we are. And that doesn't come from ticking boxes and having everyone on the same page at the same time education that comes from true inspirational education. There is a hole in our society and it needs to be filled.

So I say to those who would lead us, grow up, grow a set and stop bickering and start communicating. Inspire us to be different by action rather than words. If you fight with each other then our children learn to fight. If you get hammered as a routine then our children learn this is the way.

There is a better way and I will fight as long as I live to bring it to the attention of the people in this world