AIBU to think daytime alcohol demand points to a wider problem?

Yes I remember working in a pub when I was younger and they closed at 3 pm and didn't open again until 7pm I think, on a Sunday

Where I live (Cairns) there is a specific problem. Many of the indigenous communities on Cape York are dry or have very restrictive alcohol laws. This is always driven by the women of the community. Periodically the men get back in power on community councils and remove the restrictions and the unbelievablety high rates of DV, child sexual abuse and school truancy start again.

For the dry communities on the remote cape, when residents are send to Cairns for hospital appointments, a significant proportion of them stay in Cairns and get into a cycle of drinking all day and night in Cairns parks, rather than returning home to their communities. Cairns, being a major international tourist destination isn’t in a position to declare the city dry, so we try and minimise harm by restricting the sale of cask wine during the day.

It’s worse in Alice Springs where hundreds of people leave their dry or restricted communities and live in the dry river bed of the Todd River and drink and drink and drink. A horrific disaster for everyone, particularly the children who have the highest rates of FASD in the Western world.

Do you eat every single bit of the food you buy in the supermarket in the car park? You do understand people go shopping for things they then have later?

A lot of alcoholics drink at home.
Shutting pubs at certain times wont change a thing.

Pubs used to shut EVERY DAY at 3pm. IMO we should bring that back.

the whole aisle in the supermarket was closed off

No, that is not the thinking behind it. I was there when they cocked up the legislation.

I worked on the legislation about 20 years ago, it was a cock up to shorten the hours due to MSPs messing up the votewhen they meant to extend houurs.

Anyway, if you are a shift worker you want to nip and do your shop at weird hours. It doesn’t mean you are drinking wine at 7am, it means your shift finished and you are trying to do your shop on the way home.

Or you order a shop to be delivered at a 8am, but annoyingly can’t get your wine/beer due to licensing. Not because you want it at 8am, or even that day, that is just when you shop or the time that works.

Also it makes no sense as when you order via Amazon etc it just arrives whenever.

There was a time when you couldn't buy anything on a Sunday afternoon.

i remember when you couldnt buy it on a sunday afternoon

The sale of drink restrictions aren't to prevent alcoholics getting hold of booze, because they will find a way. They are to prevent people becoming alcoholics in the first place.

I assume you’re not in Scotland? They won’t let me check out with alcohol in my basket unless I’m in an approved time slot!

That is strict, bit tricky if you were contemplating a party! I’d be sending explicit instructions on who brings the port. When I was in Queensland I remember being told that a lot of alcohol restrictions were brought in to curb alcohol consumption and the resultant violence and they were pretty successful.

Do you think they have the balance right where you live? Do people who have alcohol problems find it easy to get around by buying online/ home brew / getting others to purchase for them.

It's a ridiculous rule. If you want to drink first thing in the morning, you'll find a way. Most people just want to be able to shop when it's quieter, not to get blazing at 8am.

There used to be a law in Scotland that forbade selling alcohol in shops on a Sunday, glad that went. Though you could often find a corner shop willing to sell you a bottle of plonk on the Sabbath.

I bought a bottle of champagne at 7:30am last week, I was in my way to a meeting and after I was dropping in to see a friend who's just passed some really difficult professional exams. I wasn't planning to down it in the carpark

I think people will always get annoyed by pointless endeavours that make life more difficult. I shop in a supermarket because I value convenience. In all honesty I probably wouldn’t go to an off licence ( what alchohol shops used to be called where I lived) instead I’d order a case of wine online every once in a while.

Where were you sailing from to be in international waters on the way to Arran?

I buy wine regularly. Usually just goes in the trolley with the big shop. I deliberately avoid doing the shopping before 10am for this reason but don't remember a time I cracked a bottle open there and then! We usually have a glass in the evening on a weekend. I'd love to be able to get the shopping a bit earlier though.

I live in Scotland and I just find the 10am thing inconvenient. We live quite far rurally so it’s a fair drive into town and to the supermarket. If I’m there before 10am for whatever reason and I want to buy alcohol then I either have to hang about until 10 or come back another time. I’m not planning on drinking it that morning!

I was driving down to England for a friends birthday weekend early on Saturday morning and stopped to buy her a gift. Realised it was too early to get the fizz and ended up having to stop again at Carlisle.

I can’t see how it stops alcoholism personally. Surely the alcoholics just wait til after 10am!

This is interesting, reading about other country’s rules.

In the part of Australia I live in (Far North Queensland), alcohol also cannot be sold before 10am and low price cask wine (under $15) cannot be sold before 4pm. Supermarkets cannot sell alcohol, although other Australian states allow this, My area is fairly mild though- check out these restrictions for Tennant Creek in the Northern Territory!

“Tennant creek

• Monday to Saturday: 4pm to 7pm.
• Sunday and public holidays: Closed

• 30 cans or stubbies of mid-strength or light beer
• 24 cans or stubbies of full-strength beer
• 12 cans or bottles of ready to drink mixes
• one 2L cask of wine
• one bottle of fortified wine
• one bottle of green ginger wine
• 2 x 750mL bottles of wine
• one bottle of 750mL spirits.

I have my Tesco shop delivered at 8am, once a week. I always order wine, and they deliver it quite cheerfully.

Strange that shop rules are different. 🤷‍♀️

Well they wouldn't catch me out - I'm the other way round. I buy beer and spirits at the corner shop late evening as it's convenient. But I drink it with my breakfast. I did actually have a severe alcohol problem forty-five years ago (and a decade of abstinence twice since). But now I only have one or two drinks on only three or four days a week, often first thing in the morning.

Smiled at this. So British. Disagree with the morality of the discounting alcohol to purchase more….but cannot say no to a good bargain more so! Absolutely love a bargain me. Haha.

Yup not healthy at all. Could you not enjoy your day out without alcohol if you are driving ?