Not content with ruining many public houses trade by banning smoking, those damn annoying nay sayers and do gooders now want to force a price rise in alcohol. The rumours have it that there would be a 10% rise in alcohol duty and licensed premised would not be allowed to have ‘special offers’ on alcohol. This country is becoming a complete nanny state, why can’t we make an informed decision on what we do with our bodies rather than have the government and/or medical people forcing their will onto us. It seems to me that we are slowly being stripped of our rights to do as we wish with our bodies. I had a major rant recently about being forced into being automatic organ donors and now we can’t even ruin our organs so they cant be used unless we want to cripple ourselves financially. This doesn’t just apply to licensed premised either, this ruling applies to shops licensed to sell alcohol as well. The British Medical Association has recommended that supermarkets should raise prices of alcohol voluntarily, but that would be illegal as it’s tantamount to price fixing. One suggestion I do agree with is lowering the legal limit for driving from 80mg per 100ml to 50mg per 100ml, but that is still not enough in my opinion. I think there should be a zero tolerance policy for drink driving, if you intend to drive, stay away from the booze completely! At the rate things are going, people like me will be out of the job, if no-one is buying alcohol in pubs then many licensed premises will have no option but to close and that’ll mean millions of workers out of the job. These people who make these suggestions really don’t think about the knock on effect of their actions, even if they do only have good intentions! Clubs and pubs have to offer incentives to get people through the door since the smoking ban and these people want to take away one of the biggest marketing tools there is for licensed premises. The smoking ban has hit clubs and pubs hard so the owners need to attract customers in to stay afloat and cheap drinks is the way to bring in custom. And now it’s looking increasingly likely that it could become illegal to use such business tactics should the BMA get their way! This country is expensive enough to live in as it is without adding more cost on the few escapes people have, many people work hard all day and want a few beers with friends to relax in the evening. It’s bad enough they have to stand in the wind and the rain to have a cigarette these days without having to pay an average of 28p extra per pint! What next, cameras in our homes to key an eye on us?
