Something interesting has been in the news here for the last couple of days which I though might be interesting to all of you over there in SE London and Kent, especially in view of the anti-crime discussions we have been having in recent days.
We have a huge problem with youth binge drinking in Australia, generally kids get on the grog at 16 or so (like the UK, really) but because there are fewer pubs (the drinking age is 18 and pubs are MUCH stricter on under-age drinkers) most youth drinking goes on in private homes and on the streets/parks etc.
Well, of course, testoterone fuelled teenagers and alcohol do not make a good mix and we have had murders, assaults, out of control parties and a general view emerging that the government must "do something."
Well, the newly elected Labor government took action last month and imposed a stinging 70% tax on what are called here "alco-pops" like Bacardi Breezers and Jim Beam & Cola, taking the price of a six-pack of this stuff from A$12.99 to nearer the A$20.00 mark in the hope that making these drinks more expensive would put them out of the reach of kids pockets.
Sounds good, right? Erm, not really. The kids of Australia have reacted by ditching the now over taxed alco-pops and instead are now grouping together to buy 750ml bottles of whisky/vodka/gin for as low as $22.00 or so (taxes were not increased on bottled spirits) and mixing their own drinks with a bottle of cheap cola or whatever.
As a result they are actually consuming more alcohol than ever because the alco-pops only had maybe 12% alcohol (I am not sure of the exact figure) whereas their generous self-poured shots are well beyond that level so the kids are getting drunker and more violent.
Of course, the government is now powerless to also whack a huge tax on bottled spirits or wine because there would be a huge outcry from the rest of the Aussie populace about paying extra for their grog.
I think this goes back to what I was saying the other day on the "Safe on our streets" thread that for every government imposed solution to a problem there will always be unintended consequences.
Interesting, no?
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Comments
yep existed in the past there all criminals!!
Big problem amongst Aborigine population apparently
I know they binge eat instead but thats another point.
You get asked for ID everywhere in America (i was with a 35 year old and he regularly got asked!) and if you don;t have it then you don't get booze - simple as.
As i say, i may be wide of the mark but thats the impression i get.
As I mentioned on the other thread Germany (and I think France??) allow drinking from the age of 16 in pubs/bars, but only at the discretion of the landlords and even then they can only drink beer and nothing stronger. The idea being that this encourages moderation, keeps drinking/drunks off the streets and teaches kids that if they want to drink in pubs they have to behave themselves or the privilege is rescinded.
Well, what's your plan?
I agree that U-21 might be the way to go but this would also cause problems. Over here, on many occasions, its the parents supplying the kids (teenagers 16-17 usually) with the alcohol and, no, I am not talking about chavs. Many of our wealthiest families here in Brissie live in the leafy western suburbs (doctors, lawyers....) but own multimillion dollar holiday homes on the islands in the bay. Come summer holidays they drive these private school kids over to the holiday house with a stack of grog and leave them there for a couple of weeks to run amok so they can get some peace at home.....great idea, actually!!!!!
LOL- same generation as me then...!
Can't believe i've just said that.. :-))
Binge drinking is just as much a proble amongst the rest of the population as elsewhere in the world, however it's probably not such a good idea to get clever with the cops when they all are packing 40 calibre Berretta semi-automatics and tasers! They certainly don't hesitate to use the tasers!!
You are never too old to be electrocuted!!
I think they're cool and effective. Protects the police but buggers up the suspects muscles without injuring them in the same way as a baton etc.
lol
- H. L. Mencken
I have two things to say about that.
Shower. American Werewolf in London.
Henry: "I wish I'd said that"
Bigstemarra "you will Henry you will"
1) Its more difficult for my 17 year old son to get a beer in a pub now than when I was that age. I was drinking in pubs regularly at 16. That tends to lead to the park bench cider/vodka cheap alcohol outcome which maybe makes it more visible.
2) I drink far more than my father ever did. I only remember him tippsy at Xmas. He went out once a week and drunk sensibly.
3) I think we as a generation have more disposable income and alcohol is probably cheaper now in real terms.
4) Almost every footy (or other) occasion seems to require significant intake of amounts of alcohol. The bigger the occasion the more consumed. Many threads on here refer to such occasions and I partake just the same as the rest.
5) Something I only learned recently was that our licensing laws were adjusted in WW1 to reduce the occasions when munition workers were pissed on their way into work (in the morning!!). At the same time the alcohol gravity of ale was greatly reduced to also limit the impact.
6) A belgian brewery worker told me that many years ago their strong beer (8%) was regularly given to children as a substitute for fresh drinking water which was not available (as it was boiled) but also because it provided significant amount of calories for energy.
So to me its a result of a higher standard of living and and many of us ( I include myself) seeking fulfillment through alcohol.
I have no solutions but dont think we as a generation have set a particularly good example and I dont blame the kids.
Incidentally, FYI, the aboriginal drinking problem is big but most aboriginies live well away from major population centres (apart from Cairns in far north QLD) so the general population do not have to deal with it and, in fact, almost never meet a "full blood" aborigine.
Youngsters binge drinking is a big problem though and people are confronted with the fallout most weekends.
The legal age to drink booze at home in the UK is five.
The problem with the UK is not about the availability of booze, but the hooligan mentality island races like ours seem cursed with.
We just happen to have a far higher percentage of feckless twunts than most other 'civilised' nations.
Sad but true :(
We've always had a boozing culture in this Island nation of ours, as early as the eighth century, Saint Boniface was writing to Cuthbert, Archbishop of Canterbury, to report how "in your diocese, the vice of drunkenness is too frequent. This is an evil peculiar to pagans and to our race. Neither the Franks nor the Gauls nor the Lombards nor the Romans nor the Greeks commit it"
We've had taverns and inns for 1000's of years even the governement got in on the act with the 17th century Gin Palaces were widespread and public drunkenness perfectly acceptable!
It's not just us as an Island mentality either, pop over to Japan as see the shitfaced businessmen slumped in doorways of tokyo covered in vomit at 9pm or Iceland where even with the prohibitve cost of buying booze see's everyone tuck into spirits at home before going out for the evening half cut.
Yeah it's not always nice and there are problems that go with it, but it's certainly not a 'new' thing.
............
That law was brought in to outlaw the practice of giving teething children gin to shut them up and send them to sleep.
Cheers.