The British government is pressing ahead with plans on Thursday to extend pub opening hours in England and Wales, amidst controversy surrounding the country’s growing binge-drinking culture.
Denounced as the ”new British disease” by Prime Minister Tony Blair himself, binge drinking and the millions of young people who drink to get drunk every weekend has become an alarming problem in Britain.
From Thursday, the traditional 11pm pub closing time in England and Wales will be consigned to history. The laws will not however apply in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Around 700 premises, including bars, clubs and supermarkets, have been granted licences for 24-hour opening, while about half of the 200 000 licensed premises have applied for an extension.
The government has refused to back down over the new laws, despite protests from law enforcement and health officials.
According to a study by the Institute of Alcohol Studies, 48% of men from 18 to 24 years old and 31% of women in the same age group are ”very drunk” at least two times per month.
The figures are similarly dramatic for adolescents, with 38% of children 13 years old having already been drunk at least once in their lives in Britain, compared to only 12% in France or seven percent in Italy. And the consequences of unbridled drinking are legion.
Deaths from alcohol are estimated at 33 000 every year. And emergency services are deluged every weekend, with 40% of admissions linked to drink, the figure climbing to 70% each night between midnight and 5am.
According to figures from the prime minister’s strategic unit on alcoholism, binge drinking costs Britain more than £20-billion per year, including £6,4-billion for employers, who lose 17-million working days every year because of employees who drink.
However, the country’s pubs are a mainstay of the economy.
In the heart of the central city of Nottingham, there are 356 pubs or clubs within one square mile and 110 000 people flock there every Friday and Saturday night.
Alcoholism is a curse, but it is a curse which brings profits. Sales generated by alcohol amount to an estimated £30-billion a year in Britain, including seven billion pounds for the treasury.
With the new licensing laws, the state’s share of revenues will also increase.
Currently, each pub pays £10 for a licence, regardless of size or location.
The one-off cost for the new licenses will range from £100 to £1 905. On top of that, an annual license tax will range from £70 to £1 050.
However, the lobby of pub owners, fervent supporters of the new law, are determined to move with the times.
Nearly 46 000 of the 55 000 pubs in England and Wales have planned to stay open two to three hours extra each weekend — adding hundreds of thousands of pints onto the 28-million served daily. ‒ Sapa-AFP