Britain is considering ban on "happy hour"

Should a government get involved in matters of "personal judgement"

Total Votes : 11
0
British lawmakers are considering a ban on "Happy Hour" which in case anybody isn't familiar with the term is an hour (usually after normal working hours) where establishments offer discounted prices on alcohol/ The reason for considering the ban is to stem an increasing number of alcohol related deaths in adults between the ages of 20-30.

http://www.newser.com/article/d94k34b00/britain-may-ban-happy-hour-discounts-and-take-other-measures-as-drinking-related-deaths-rise.html

The question is this: When/Is it acceptable for a government or other governing body to pass laws based on the matters of personal judgment.

I want to see what FAKKU thinks about this.
0


That was in response to banning alcohol on the subway. That is something so reasonable that I'm astounded it was legal till then. I think banning happy hour would plunge England into several weeks of drunken protest in which the country would likely shut down and devolve back into feudalism.
0
How typical of me to catch this first [I SWEAR I'm not an alcoholic lol]. Well, it is in a different country, so I can't be as reliant on 'freedom' but I do think its' bull that governments just step in and decide that one thing or another is far too bad for ones' health. I'm sick of this crap. America itself is suffering from cigarette and food wars. Restaurants are not allowed to make really large servings of food. Instead of getting a BIG box of fries we have been reduced to getting several decent boxes that are labeled 'big' but aren't. The government is regulating that restaurants not only HAVE to have salad bars, but that they be placed along the way to the ordering counter. They keep trying to manipulate the drinking age asa well. So I guess its everywhere. Freedom is slowly being sapped from those that live in countries with it. If people unite, things could be solved. Thing is, I don't think anyone will ever unite, because people are, by nature, too bullheaded. Well, that's my piece. What kind of country won't let you get booze cheaper?!? Can't a man get a drink around here?
0
blind_assassin wrote...


That was in response to banning alcohol on the subway. That is something so reasonable that I'm astounded it was legal till then. I think banning happy hour would plunge England into several weeks of drunken protest in which the country would likely shut down and devolve back into feudalism.


You seem to have very little faith in the British people.

Anyway, governments should only control people's pesonal lives when it involves something that is a danger to others, so being that they can reason this as defending the public, it's fairly justified.

I personally woul dprefer less government involvement in our personal lives, but only because I think it would make things more interesting.
0
Dante1214 wrote...
blind_assassin wrote...


That was in response to banning alcohol on the subway. That is something so reasonable that I'm astounded it was legal till then. I think banning happy hour would plunge England into several weeks of drunken protest in which the country would likely shut down and devolve back into feudalism.


You seem to have very little faith in the British people.

Anyway, governments should only control people's pesonal lives when it involves something that is a danger to others, so being that they can reason this as defending the public, it's fairly justified.

I personally woul dprefer less government involvement in our personal lives, but only because I think it would make things more interesting.


Oh I have plenty of faith, I just know how much we English love booze. Anti-happy hour legislation would likely spark chants of "Gordon is a wanker" across the entire country.
0
blind_assassin wrote...
Dante1214 wrote...
blind_assassin wrote...


That was in response to banning alcohol on the subway. That is something so reasonable that I'm astounded it was legal till then. I think banning happy hour would plunge England into several weeks of drunken protest in which the country would likely shut down and devolve back into feudalism.


You seem to have very little faith in the British people.

Anyway, governments should only control people's pesonal lives when it involves something that is a danger to others, so being that they can reason this as defending the public, it's fairly justified.

I personally woul dprefer less government involvement in our personal lives, but only because I think it would make things more interesting.


Oh I have plenty of faith, I just know how much we English love booze. Anti-happy hour legislation would likely spark chants of "Gordon is a wanker" across the entire country.


You are a people who like drinking and chanting.
Which is why you'd think you'd get along better with the Irish and Scotish. But not the Welsh. Fuck those guys.
0
As Dante said, when it's a matter of safety, the government should get involved. That's the whole reason certain drugs are illegal, to help protect people. And I think we can all agree that heroin and crack should be illegal.

Anyways, concerning the ban on Happy Hour, I think it makes sense. If alcohol-related deaths are increasing, something needs to be done, to help protect lives. If they wanted to ban alcohol, I'd be against it (partly because that'd be unjust and partly because there's no fucking way it would work), but all they're trying to do is get rid of the reduced prices so that people won't drink as much. A negative consequence is that a regular Joe who just likes to have a cheap drink after work will have to pay a little more, but he'd have to pay that price anyway if he missed happy hour, or if the bar stopped offering the discount. It's not like they're adding an extra tax to alcohol, increasing its price across the board.

It is the government's job to protect its citizens, because, unfortunately, not all citizens are bright enough to protect themselves. Sure, some people may want to drink themselves to death, and they have every right to do so, but they shouldn't get a discount to do so. This ban, I suppose, is meant to help young people who don't know when to stop, and that's good. Having a lot of twenty-year-olds with liver damage isn't good for a country, and it certainly isn't good for the parents of those twenty-year-olds.
0
ShaggyJebus wrote...
As Dante said, when it's a matter of safety, the government should get involved. That's the whole reason certain drugs are illegal, to help protect people. And I think we can all agree that heroin and crack should be illegal.

Anyways, concerning the ban on Happy Hour, I think it makes sense. If alcohol-related deaths are increasing, something needs to be done, to help protect lives. If they wanted to ban alcohol, I'd be against it (partly because that'd be unjust and partly because there's no fucking way it would work), but all they're trying to do is get rid of the reduced prices so that people won't drink as much. A negative consequence is that a regular Joe who just likes to have a cheap drink after work will have to pay a little more, but he'd have to pay that price anyway if he missed happy hour, or if the bar stopped offering the discount. It's not like they're adding an extra tax to alcohol, increasing its price across the board.

It is the government's job to protect its citizens, because, unfortunately, not all citizens are bright enough to protect themselves. Sure, some people may want to drink themselves to death, and they have every right to do so, but they shouldn't get a discount to do so. This ban, I suppose, is meant to help young people who don't know when to stop, and that's good. Having a lot of twenty-year-olds with liver damage isn't good for a country, and it certainly isn't good for the parents of those twenty-year-olds.


Well, heroin only real hurts the user and people who give a shit about the user. Unless you mix it with something else and are out there chasing the dragon or something, heroin doesn't make you want to do stuff. Although, being addictive, I guess it can make thieves of people or something.

Oh, and we tried banning alchohol here in the States a while back...didn't turn out too well. Gave birth to organised crime as we now know it.
0
ShaggyJebus wrote...
As Dante said, when it's a matter of safety, the government should get involved. That's the whole reason certain drugs are illegal, to help protect people. And I think we can all agree that heroin and crack should be illegal.


Most of the motivation for anti-drug legislation was actually motivated by racist and anti-immigrant ideas. The only reason they're still around is because the voting public deems them acceptable (in some cases I agree) and the people that disagree with them can't come up with anything reasonable to bring them down.

ShaggyJebus wrote...
Anyways, concerning the ban on Happy Hour, I think it makes sense. If alcohol-related deaths are increasing, something needs to be done, to help protect lives. If they wanted to ban alcohol, I'd be against it (partly because that'd be unjust and partly because there's no fucking way it would work), but all they're trying to do is get rid of the reduced prices so that people won't drink as much. A negative consequence is that a regular Joe who just likes to have a cheap drink after work will have to pay a little more, but he'd have to pay that price anyway if he missed happy hour, or if the bar stopped offering the discount. It's not like they're adding an extra tax to alcohol, increasing its price across the board.

It is the government's job to protect its citizens, because, unfortunately, not all citizens are bright enough to protect themselves. Sure, some people may want to drink themselves to death, and they have every right to do so, but they shouldn't get a discount to do so. This ban, I suppose, is meant to help young people who don't know when to stop, and that's good. Having a lot of twenty-year-olds with liver damage isn't good for a country, and it certainly isn't good for the parents of those twenty-year-olds.


The problem is that this kind of legislation doesn't work. Alcohol related deaths are unavoidable in any society with readily available booze. When people go overboard at bars it's usually because of too much pre-drinks. If it takes 30 beers to get alcohol toxicity in someone then they aren't going to spend 90 quid (just assuming 3 quid a bottle, could be way off) at the bar on themselves. They're going to drink 10 at home, then buy another 3-4 at the bar, get another 2-3 from buddies, maybe a few pitchers where they chip a quid or two, and then they end up going to the hospital.

I'll finish my thought up when I get back from Economics in 3 hours.
0
blind_assassin wrote...
Most of the motivation for anti-drug legislation was actually motivated by racist and anti-immigrant ideas. The only reason they're still around is because the voting public deems them acceptable (in some cases I agree) and the people that disagree with them can't come up with anything reasonable to bring them down.


I'll be the first to admit that not every drug law is good. Marijuana possession, for example, can get you in a lot of trouble, and while I don't necessarily think it should be legal, the punishment for having marijuana is very steep, and the government needs to cut back, especially since marijuana isn't a very dangerous drug. That said, I don't see any situation in which crack or cocaine should be legal. Even if they were made illegal because of racist ideas, they are both still very harmful and deserve to be illegal.

blind_assassin wrote...
The problem is that this kind of legislation doesn't work. Alcohol related deaths are unavoidable in any society with readily available booze. When people go overboard at bars it's usually because of too much pre-drinks. If it takes 30 beers to get alcohol toxicity in someone then they aren't going to spend 90 quid (just assuming 3 quid a bottle, could be way off) at the bar on themselves. They're going to drink 10 at home, then buy another 3-4 at the bar, get another 2-3 from buddies, maybe a few pitchers where they chip a quid or two, and then they end up going to the hospital.

I'll finish my thought up when I get back from Economics in 3 hours.


From what I read in the article, Britain isn't trying to eliminate alcohol-related deaths. The people in charge are just trying to lower the number of alcohol-related deaths because they have been increasing dramatically.

Also, the ban on happy hour discounts is just one thing they are thinking of doing. They clearly don't think that banning discounts at happy hour is going to fix the problem. It's just one way they are trying to help.
0
Well, crack, jut like AIDS, was created by Ronald Reagan to keep the black man down.
Booze, just like the English, was created by God to keep the Irish down.

That's why booze can't be illegal, it makes God angry, and then he goes and makes Al Capone.

Or...something like that.
0
Ban happy hour in Britain?
Then british people would be missing the happy and lovely songs on the train like the one in the video was posted in this thread.
0
I think that if Labour seriously wanted to do something about the problems accociated with drinking they wouldn't have introduced 24 hour licences.
0
If people want to drink, their gonna drink. Price factors in sometimes, but you can get really trashed for pretty fucking cheap. I don't really think that its gonna make much of a difference. I mean people don't just drink at bars and most of the people that are actually looking to get right aren't usually wasting money at bars to begin with.
Vanilla
Tomboy
Netorare
Monster Girl
Femdom
Popular Tags Today: