Changes to Drinks License Laws

Associate
Joined
25 Jul 2004
Posts
2,052
Location
Aberdeen
This is happening in Scotland first of all, so the rest of you don't have to worry...just yet.
But come 1st of September quite a few changes will happen in regards to drinks license laws.
The big one for most people will be that there will be no drinks promotions in shops or supermarkets as this is seen as encouraging drinking. So no more buy two get a third free and the like.

So how many of you Scots actually know anything about the changes that are due to happen?
I'm asking this as I've been covering this at work, but I've been speaking to friends outside of work and none of them have any idea that things are going to be changing.

Oh and if you look under 25 and don't have ID you won't be getting served in any supermarket from September.
If you want to read more http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Justice/law/Licensing/Alcohol-licensing
 
Hopefully I'll be living abroad by the time this makes it's way South (if it ever does if Dave wins that is).
 
I know about it and think it's a load of ****. Now we get screwed over with booze, I mean it's nice to pick a wee cheap crate up now and then. Will it help cut down on binge drinking and the usual weekend of people getting rat arsed I doubt it.
 
Ban off-sales promotions such as 'three for two' and cut-price offers, which encourage bulk buying and over-consumption, and ban selling alcohol as a 'loss leader'

Completely stupid. The other points aren't so bad.
 
How does it encourage over consumption?
I love these offers, means I can buy a nice pack of beer to last a while and enjoy a can with a meal and so on.
 
I came across this in walkabout in Glasgow. Used to get vodka redbull for 1.50 with the daft wee card thing. Now it only takes 20 percent off food.

If people want to get ****** up then they will do it no matter what!
 
No drinks promotions from supermarkets? They're not stupid or being lax with money even when running those offers on now. They'll just reduce the overall price of cases/crates.
 
These seem like guidelines to me, rather than law. You can't enforce by law the think 25 policy.

No, but you can make it a pre-condition of renewing a license. i.e. if the shop does not follow this policy then they may harm their chance of renewing the license - it is basically a way to force through changes without having to actually pass a real law.
 
OP - I'm aware of the changes as I work in the retail industry and live in Scotland. I can appreciate this hasn't exactly been well advertised, and I'm waiting to see what reception these changes will receive.

I'll always remember an American friend of mine at my old work who seemed genuinley shocked that our government controls when we can purchase alcohol :eek:. I'm not sure exactly how the licensing laws work across the pond but I'll never forget him asking me "What right does your government have to dictate when you can or cannot buy a beer? You do live in a democracy - right?"

Personally I really cant see these changes having any effect on the binge drinkers they are aimed at. :(
 
I'm not doubting this will happen but they said this years ago. Just like the pay to park at work thing. They said that in about '99-2000.

The drink thing, all it boiled down to was: you could sell a bottle of lager for a £1 if you wanted but you couldn't sell them for '£1.50 each or 5 bottles for £5' therefore making it cheaper/better to buy more. E.G better to buy 5 for £5 over buying 4 for £6.

the bottom line being you could sell drinks for 1p a pint if you wanted.

If it ever happend then it wouldn't really affect the customer much. All that would happen would be any drinks offer would purely be: 'was £3.00, now £2.50' rather than '£3 each or 4x for £10'

You really woudn't notice
 
Last edited:
Think 25 is already the norm in all ASDA and Tesco stores. I ID'd a woman who turned out to be 34 the other day, she was really flattered :D

Think 25 is a good policy as it stops those who are underage from purchasing alcohol and helps to protect the shop worker as it is easier to differentiate between a 17 and a 25 year old than it is a 17 year old and a 21 year old.

The other policies sound more like government control of what little release we have getting tighter and tighter. If people wish to drink alcohol, they shouldn't have to be rich to do so.

All these kind of things will do is exclude the poor, poor call in my book.
 
This whole thing of dealing with binge drinking is annoying me now. Unless alcohol prices shoot through the roof and become triple what they were then this problem isn't going to go away. Besides this country faces more pressing problems than binge drinking. This is a cheap tactic and the government would be better off pumping more money into the NHS, which to be fair we could do with.... binge drinking problems aside.

It reminds me of the other thread about the recent news that glass pint glasses are to be banned. Gotta love our country.. head up the arse comes to mind.

My perhaps ignorant view.
 
Last edited:
Eyy, Aberdeen. I work in one of the Scream chain pubs there and I can say that from a barstaff's perspective I can't see it being any less busy seeing as students willalways fork out, certainly during Freshers and after. Curious to see the promotions the chains come up with come Sep to get around these new laws
 
Back
Top Bottom