On tap at British pubs: Later last call By César G. Soriano, USA TODAY
LONDON — Just before 11 p.m. at The York pub, the bartender rings a bell and announces "last orders." A dozen patrons rush to refill their glasses and chug their drinks before closing.
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</td> <td class="sidebar" valign="top" width="75"> London pubs currently have to close at 11 p.m.</td> <td rowspan="2">
</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left" valign="bottom">By Jane Mingay, AP</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> A group of four young men stagger out the door. Several women in their 20s sing and laugh loudly as they walk to the Angel subway station.
It's a scene played out every night across Britain, where pubs must close at 11 p.m. But on Nov. 24, the government — convinced that the mandatory closing time has led to binge drinking and public drunkenness — will end nearly a century of tradition and allow pubs to remain open longer, theoretically up to 24 hours.
The controversial move, approved under the Licensing Act of 2003, has divided Britons. Critics of the new law include police unions, pub neighbors, health experts and media. London's Daily Mail newspaper has a "Say No to 24-Hour Pubs" campaign with frequent articles bashing Prime Minister Tony Blair's plan in an effort to reverse the act.
Supporters of the longer drinking hours include pub owners, Blair, the brewing industry and many patrons. Now, "you have this onslaught of people on the street at the same time," says Leanne Mison, 26, sipping a glass of wine at The York. She says people feel "compelled to drink" to beat the clock.
That's what the government thinks, too. Britain has one of Europe's highest rates of binge drinking, especially among teenagers and adults under 25, according to the London-based Institute of Alcohol Studies (IAS). Blair has declared binge drinking and alcoholism "a new British disease."
A task force organized to study Britain's drinking behavior for the prime minister's Strategy Unit estimates that 5.9 million of the United Kingdom's 60 million people binge drink at least once a week.
Binge drinking most commonly refers to drinking double the daily government allowance of alcohol. The British Department of Health recommends no more than three to four "units" for men and two to three units for women per day. A unit is about half a pint of beer, a small glass of wine or one shot of liquor. The legal drinking age is 18.
"The problem is not that we have short drinking hours. The problem is we go out and drink to get drunk during the hours we have available," says Ben Baumberg, a researcher at the IAS. "If you extend pub hours, people are not going to drink less. They will drink more over a longer period of time."
The Association of Chief Police Officers and other law enforcement groups blame binge drinking for a rise in violent crime and antisocial behavior, an all-encompassing term used to describe incidents such as urinating in public or bar brawls. Alcohol-fueled violent crime jumped 30% last year on the country's public transportation system to 9,748 incidents, according to the British Transport Police.
Under the new law, pubs that wish to remain open past 11 p.m. must apply with their local government. Officials take into account the pub's track record and neighbor concerns. About 90% of the association's members have applied to stay open only one or two hours longer, says British Beer & Pub Association spokesman Neil Williams.
At the Islington Tap, a pub in North London, manager Edward Wilkie calls the 11 p.m. closing time — established during World War I to ration supplies and ensure Britons got to work the next day to support the war effort — "archaic."
At a public hearing last month, the pub received permission to stay open beginning Nov. 24 until midnight on weekdays and 1 a.m. on weekends. It will make some concessions, including closing an outdoor patio after 11 p.m., to address neighbors' concerns.
It's not hours, but attitudes that need to change, Baumberg says. "In continental Europe, people don't respect drunkards, but here it's tolerated and even respected," he says.
Bottoms up to our fellow RX posters in UK.
:drink:
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LONDON — Just before 11 p.m. at The York pub, the bartender rings a bell and announces "last orders." A dozen patrons rush to refill their glasses and chug their drinks before closing.
<table class="sidebar" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tbody><tr> <td colspan="4">
It's a scene played out every night across Britain, where pubs must close at 11 p.m. But on Nov. 24, the government — convinced that the mandatory closing time has led to binge drinking and public drunkenness — will end nearly a century of tradition and allow pubs to remain open longer, theoretically up to 24 hours.
The controversial move, approved under the Licensing Act of 2003, has divided Britons. Critics of the new law include police unions, pub neighbors, health experts and media. London's Daily Mail newspaper has a "Say No to 24-Hour Pubs" campaign with frequent articles bashing Prime Minister Tony Blair's plan in an effort to reverse the act.
Supporters of the longer drinking hours include pub owners, Blair, the brewing industry and many patrons. Now, "you have this onslaught of people on the street at the same time," says Leanne Mison, 26, sipping a glass of wine at The York. She says people feel "compelled to drink" to beat the clock.
That's what the government thinks, too. Britain has one of Europe's highest rates of binge drinking, especially among teenagers and adults under 25, according to the London-based Institute of Alcohol Studies (IAS). Blair has declared binge drinking and alcoholism "a new British disease."
A task force organized to study Britain's drinking behavior for the prime minister's Strategy Unit estimates that 5.9 million of the United Kingdom's 60 million people binge drink at least once a week.
Binge drinking most commonly refers to drinking double the daily government allowance of alcohol. The British Department of Health recommends no more than three to four "units" for men and two to three units for women per day. A unit is about half a pint of beer, a small glass of wine or one shot of liquor. The legal drinking age is 18.
"The problem is not that we have short drinking hours. The problem is we go out and drink to get drunk during the hours we have available," says Ben Baumberg, a researcher at the IAS. "If you extend pub hours, people are not going to drink less. They will drink more over a longer period of time."
The Association of Chief Police Officers and other law enforcement groups blame binge drinking for a rise in violent crime and antisocial behavior, an all-encompassing term used to describe incidents such as urinating in public or bar brawls. Alcohol-fueled violent crime jumped 30% last year on the country's public transportation system to 9,748 incidents, according to the British Transport Police.
Under the new law, pubs that wish to remain open past 11 p.m. must apply with their local government. Officials take into account the pub's track record and neighbor concerns. About 90% of the association's members have applied to stay open only one or two hours longer, says British Beer & Pub Association spokesman Neil Williams.
At the Islington Tap, a pub in North London, manager Edward Wilkie calls the 11 p.m. closing time — established during World War I to ration supplies and ensure Britons got to work the next day to support the war effort — "archaic."
At a public hearing last month, the pub received permission to stay open beginning Nov. 24 until midnight on weekdays and 1 a.m. on weekends. It will make some concessions, including closing an outdoor patio after 11 p.m., to address neighbors' concerns.
It's not hours, but attitudes that need to change, Baumberg says. "In continental Europe, people don't respect drunkards, but here it's tolerated and even respected," he says.
Bottoms up to our fellow RX posters in UK.
:drink:
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