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.

Our offie sells food, I got eggs and loo roll yesterday.
Of course they are essential.
I don't know of any that just sell booze.

Alcoholics aren't just wife beating men, homeless people or downtrodden benefits claimants in filthy council flats.

They're well to do, Mercedes owning ladies in fancy clothes who can't manage without wine every night. They're working mums and dads in normal households who claim they don't but do actually need that glass or two with every meal.
They're single mums.
They're everyday people suffering with mental health conditions and depression.

Prohibition isn't the answer even if it wouldn't bother me one bit personally.

People will buy alcohol and it would be unfair on off licenses if the alcohol aisles in supermarkets remain open but they are not allowed to.

I do not know of a local offy which sells groceries

Are people talking about corner shops which have an alcohol license?

Cos that would make sense

Well said OchAyeThaNoo

yes the women whose partners beat them after having a drink can get over it too.

When I studied criminology and law, taking alcohol from abusive partners caused more abuse. I don’t know if that’s still the case, and I feel incredibly sorry for anyone in that situation because having been in a violent relationship, this would be hell, but it’s worth considering that removing alcohol may well worsen abuse and not improve it.

I haven't seen an old school off licence for years.

You buy alcohol at supermaket or corner shop here.

There are no unwins or thresher type places they all closed down years ago.

Sorry

Missed this bit

So a newsagent or grocery shop becomes an off license once they add an alcohol aisle

Gotcha

There are no unwins or thresher type places they all closed down years ago

Oh we still have old school off licences here, hence my confusion

Sudden alcohol withdrawal is life threatening. The nhs doesn’t have capacity for a load of on demand in hospital detoxes at the moment so it is very, very essential that the off licences stay open.

I don't drink. I'd happily see it taken off the face of the earth. I also believe that even 'take it or leave it' drinkers still have a dependency (otherwise you would leave it surely? ) however, stopping alcohol sales will lead to huge problems for those with a physical dependency and will leave those who are psychologically addicted in a state of anxiety ( even though anxiety is hugely reduced by going alcohol free). I'm lucky I quit a year ago.

Well it would be really interesting to see some proper numbers on this.

The posters against banning alcohol sales seem convinced it will increase A&E pressures due to alcoholics going cold turkey.
The posters for banning alcohol sales seem convinced doing so will reduce pressure on A&E (and the police) due to reduced alcohol poisoning and domestic/general violence and accidents.

It would be interesting to know which one is true. I suspect banning sales would be more likely to reduce A&E pressures. During this crisis, I don't think 'I like a glass of wine with my dinner' should come into it.

Ah

Yes that would confuse!

I had a thresher at the end of my road when I lived alone, very handy! That shut down about 15 years ago. I think they couldn't complete with the cheap supermarket booze and the large number of small general shops that were selling it.

Banning the sale of alcohol in the UK at this point would, I genuinely think, result in civil unrest. It would be a crazy thing to do. Put people in a very stressful, isolated situation, turn lives inside out, then ban the favourite prop of millions of people.

Sorry i disagree personally I hate drinking. My mum's an alcoholic and I hate it however she's on a 12 weeks lockdown and right now I don't think is the time for her to go threw serious withdrawals I would be more worried about how ill she could get from doing that than her having a drink. I've even offered for me and my partner to get it for her as I don't want her leaving the house to go shop out of desperation when she should stay in ! I'm sorry but this is from someone who as grown up and hated having a parent with an alcohol problem but I also won't be selfish and pretend to know what it's like and like she should just give up now without medical support.

Last time I went to Tesco the alcohol shelfs were stripped bear. Apart from the Corona, loads of that left.

I think chocolate isn’t essential because I don’t eat it. Therefore the shops should stop selling chocolate. Actually, cakes and all sweet things can go too and those factories can be put to use making something else. Vegetarians will say that meat isn’t essential so that can stop too. Vegans will say that eggs, cheese and milk aren’t essential either so that’s them gone.

This thread is mental. We obviously all have very different views on alcohol, but some seem to be taking delight in the current situation.

Let's ban purchasing cigarettes coz lockdown. Let's ban purchasing make-up coz lockdown. Let's ban purchasing magazine coz lockdown. Let's suck all that is fun in life as that will help stop the spread of covid-19 obvs. Sigh.

I'm lucky I quit a year ago

Ooh yippee. A reformed drinker.

So you don't drink anymore, therefore you don't think anyone should and you would like to see it "taken off the face of the earth"

Sounds like you had serious issues with alcohol. Not everyone does. Why not have a glass of wine if you like the taste ffs.

I also grew up with an alcoholic step dad which was abusive and one that was abusive and wasn't an alcoholic so I think it's the person not the alcohol that makes someone abusive. Also have an abusive ex myself and he wasn't an alcoholic. Men or women are abusers because of some deep reasons from childhood or just because they are an ass. My mum's no where near violent or abusive she's lovely

1. It keeps all the corner shops and convenience stores open.

1. It keeps the NHS free from the 9% of men and approximately 3% of women in the UK that are estimated to have a physical dependence upon alcohol from from needing intensive care beds as a result of unscheduled alcohol withdrawal.

1. An alcoholic is likely to become more violent when unable to get their drink - partly because they're arseholes addicts and partly because they know damn well that there's a good chance that this will mean dying.

1. It keeps a significant number from requiring long term care in the future as a result of alcohol related dementia, which is caused by brain damage sustained from unmanaged withdrawals.

1. Abusive, violent drunks are abusive, violent cunts who don't actually need alcohol to be like that - adding booze does not completely change their personality, it merely reduces the boundary line for it; a thug is a thug whether sober or pissed.

1. Moralising when you aren't in the situation is all very well, but it's not you that would have to deal with those consequences - it would be the partners, wives, children and NHS dealing with people having hallucinations, seizures and dying.

1. Other people like to have a drink perfectly safely, reasonably and without causing harm to anybody whatsoever.

I fucking despise alcoholism. I fucking despise the behaviour of addicts. I fucking despise the violent cunts who use their dependence upon alcohol to abuse their so-called loved ones/victims.

But you cannot have somewhere around 40,000 people in London alone (estimated by taking 9% of the London population and halving it) requiring emergency admission to hospital within a short time through stopping the sale of alcohol.

Or requiring removal from their homes, post mortems and burial.

So I should go without a glass of wine because a small minority of men can’t keep their temper under control?

And no one is forcing off licenses to stay open. They still have a choice.

Not being facetious but how does alcohol kill you if you stop drinking if you're an alcoholic? Is the withdrawal that bad? Some of the responses here indicate that it will - is it worse than dying from drinking alcohol. Anyone know how many deaths have been caused by alcohol for 2020 in the UK? Also anyone know if there would be less hospitalisations caused by alcoholics going cold turkey compared by women being victims of domestic violence or children? Are all wife beaters alcoholics, or just beat their wives when they're drunk? Lots of grey areas. All I can say is god help those poor helpless women and children living with those fuckers 24 hours a day.

So can I go out and get a bottle of gin and a couple bottles of tonic. Is that classed as essential?

Whats the point of them staying open if people aren't supposed to be going to them

They sell basic groceries and some people get gas and electric