Off licences are allowed to remain open during stricter lockdown

[reliefistheword]

Off licences are allowed to remain open during stricter lockdown because responsible drinkers were entitled to have a drink

This has been deemed essential.

Ridiculous.

I’d like to see the sale of it forbidden too during this period. It’s not essential and if drinking goes up then the NHS is going to have far more people to deal with after this.

@reliefistheword

You're being a little ridiculous! Supermarkets are still open you know.

Closing off licences is not going to stop DV.

This is already a miserable situation, so many on here want us all to sit in our homes staring at the wall eating dry bread and drinking water.

@adaline

So we should give heroin, cocaine to those who are dependent on these drugs? Everybody’s addictions should be fed? Because their deaths will withdrawal would be unpleasant?

Already two women are murdered every week in the UK because of domestic violence. This will only rise even further now.

Closing off licences isn't going to solve any of the problems mentioned here. Men don't beat their wives because they have easy access to booze, and alcoholics aren't going to use this horribly stressful time as an opportunity to get sober.

Yabu OP. There are lots of people in this country dependent on alcohol. Limiting their access to it means more people in already crowded supermarkets, a bad idea, and it means some of them possibly not being able to get it. In extremis, impromptu drying out for people who really depend on it means fitting, and some of them will be desperate enough to look for other, less safe sources of alcohol. Both of which leave the NHS picking up the pieces.

Practically speaking, limiting access to alcohol is a very bad idea. The decision couldn't realistically have been made differently.

Plenty of perpetrators are abusive when they’re sober and don’t need alcohol to fuel them. Restrictions on booze won’t make a difference to many. There has been a spike in domestic abuse call outs which I’m guessing is due to abusers and victims being shut in the house together 24/7 and the knock on effect of that. I hope that domestic abuse services get more funding after this, to help more survivors to get out, and because they need it and deserve it anyway. But I’m guessing they won’t.

Every single off license around here also sells normal groceries.

Literally this! They are essentially grocery shops with a range of household essentials, that also sell alcohol.

Isn’t the reason they are called off licenses is because they are able to sell alcohol? So a newsagent or grocery shop becomes an off license once they add an alcohol aisle? That doesn’t make the rest of the shop redundant.

I had my first bottle of wine at home in over a year. I wouldn’t normally drink at home but after last week I fancied it on Friday night.
I had a bottle out of the cupboard that’s been there for well over a year.
For a moment I thought about getting a few bottles in to see me through lockdown, but then decided against it as it’s not a great habit to start.
I can easily see how alcohol consumption will go up during this.
Personally, I think the off licenses should be shut as I don’t deem it essential, but I agree with the posters saying it will just force some people out and travelling further to get it.

Why would it rise? People have less access to alcohol than they did before with pubs etc closed. You're really reaching if you think off licences being open will cause more women to be murdered than before.

People keep saying abusers will abuse anyway. Alcohol is a factor in 55% of domestic abuse. That’s a lot of cases with alcohol involved.

Yes. But why do you think that will rise just because off licences remain open?

What are your other proposals to end domestic abuse in this country?

Maybe if domestic abusers received the same level of public condemnation as people who are daring to go for a walk are right now, we would have the kind of society where domestic abuse isn't rampant due to being socially tolerated.

That’s a lot of cases with alcohol involved.

Agreed. So what will boozers do if they can't nip to the corner shop? Get in the car and travel to the nearest supermarket, mix with all sorts of people, buy their fix and drive home. Sounds like a terrible idea.

Alcohol isn't essential (for most of us) but it is one of the things that makes this period more bearable (for me) along with the ability to go out for a walk.

Yes I could get by without it (snap for the walk) and if measure do need to be stricter then of course I will.

If you feel so strongly about off licenses causing domestic abuse - contact your MP? Why don’t you actually do something that may lead to a tangible change?

DV cases have risen in custody, so have drink drives...

People can buy alcohol from shops other than off licences. Shops that sell alcohol but also sell food (like many many convenience stores) staying open is one thing. There is absolutely no good reason for shops that sell purely alcohol (and there are loads of these even if we all want to pretend we’ve never seen them in this thread!) to remain open.

Giving free access to alcohol won’t stop them being abusive.

Do you genuinely think taking it away will?

You seriously need to read up on alcoholism and drink dependency.

So we should give heroin, cocaine to those who are dependent on these drugs? Everybody’s addictions should be fed? Because their deaths will withdrawal would be unpleasant?

Well, the big difference is that the sale of alcohol is perfectly legal!

Our local off-license also sells bread, milk, tinned products, baby food and also has a fridge full of ready meals, sausage rolls and cold drinks. I'd rather go there than queue outside Tesco.

And you can also buy alcohol online or in the supermarket, so closing off-licenses won't actually change anything

OP I sincerely hope you never have to watch a loved one endure alcohol withdrawal. To some people alcohol is essential, you may never have experienced it and you're very bloody lucky if you haven't.

The domestic abuse angle does not add up, they dont have any more access to alcohol than they did before, they can just as easily get it from the shops. Off licences being open will decrease the numbers travelling to supermarkets to buy bits and bobs and things like cigarettes and vaping stuff. For some people a local off licence may be the only 'store' for miles not everyone lives in cities. You also need to realise that not everyone wanting to purchase alcohol is an abusive partner or an alcoholic or even a parent who needs to be relatively sober.

I don't understand why closing off licences would reduce domestic abuse.

You can just go to your local co-op, b & m, supermarket etc.

Closing the off licenses will not stop people buying booze.

I think they are more worried that people will try to meet up wuth each other to relax and have a beer. Less likely if anyone can get it.

Plus if things get harder, it might help some people.

So we should give heroin, cocaine to those who are dependent on these drugs? Everybody’s addictions should be fed? Because their deaths will withdrawal would be unpleasant?

Not comparable, as we don't have an existing legal, efficient, regulated fairly cheap supply and commercial retail network to supply either of those which we could simply leave in place to mitigate the problem. And we're not in a position to create one now.

It's a realistic possibility that people addicted to those drugs will cause more trouble if forced into withdrawal than they would if kept supplied, yes. But because you can't buy cocaine in off licences, the two situations are not comparable.

It's ridiculous, we don't need alcohol. As a single parent I don't drink if my DCs are here, I never know if I will need to take them to the hospital (both have medical conditions).