Free drinks for women banned

United Kingdom, October 13: Bars will be banned from offering free drinks to women with the government’s proposal that attempts to cut down on the binge drinking and public drunkenness.

A 24-hour drinking was introduced in the hope of making a behavior shift towards a “café culture” but failed. Because of this, government intervention has again become necessary.

A code drafted by the Home Office and the Department of Health aims to change the people’s attitudes regarding drinking. They cautioned that alcohol should never be seen as a social, financial, and sexual booster.

The said code has included the following rules:

• Cigarette-style health warnings. These will be shown on shops, bars, and restaurants where alcoholic beverages are sold. This warning will include the safe daily drinking limits as well as a website that promotes moderate alcohol consumption.
• Controlled amounts of alcoholic beverages during free tasting events. Each sample cannot go over 125 mL and “care must be taken to ensure that customers do not return for further tastings and run the risk of becoming intoxicated”.
• Restaurants will need to serve wine in a glass with measures placed at the side.
• A ban on drinking games such as a “drink all you can” offer.

Aside from these, the government will also prohibit selling cocktails with sexually graphic names such as Sex on the Beach or Slippery Nipple.

They are also aiming to force bar staffs to undergo an accredited training. The training would ensure that staffs are properly educated about checking a customer’s age, refusing a customer who has overly drunk alcohol in order to prevent disorders caused by excessive alcohol drinking.

In resistance against the said code, Mark Hasting of the British Beer & Pub Association stated, "At a time when the economy and business is under severe pressure it's government's role to support business, not send in a wrecking crew with the ball and chain of further regulation. Government needs to wake up to the fact that five pubs a day are closing."

The ban on free drinks has been made for women because it is believed that women carry a greater risk of drinking too much than men do. According to the guidelines set by the government, women should drink only 2 or 3 units of alcohol in a day compared to 3 or 4 units for men.