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

[trainboundfornowhere]

I will preempt this by saying I live in Scotland and am basing this on what I’ve seen. I cannot answer for the rest of the uk. 9.15am and I’m in my local supermarket this morning picking up a few bits. I spot my friend who works there putting a bottle of wine back on the shelf and she says that is the third bottle she has had to put back since the shop opened at 7am (Shops can only sell alcohol between 10am-10pm). The customer is complaining about stupid Scottish rules. Monday they refused to sell alcohol to two people mid afternoon who were heavily intoxicated and Tuesday they had to ask someone who was drinking in the foyer to leave. This is sadly something I have noticed not just in that supermarket but others across the city and that this is a snapshot of a wider problem.

Quite.

I bought 6 bottles of wine yesterday before 10am. I like going to the supermarket at that time because it’s quiet, and I bought 6 bottles of wine because we didn’t have any left and there’s a discount when you buy 6. (I don’t actually approve of the discount, but hypocritically I do take advantage of it).

None of the wine has yet been drunk. I don’t drink at all and my husband will have one bottle over the course of the weekend. Assuming no visitors, those 6 bottles will last us 6 weeks.

I often do my shopping before work and will buy wine (and even spirits!) long before 10:00. I walk my dog and go to the gym of a morning, along with shopping. I prefer to get all the 'tasks' done so that I have a free evening.

I realise that turning up sozzled to buy alcohol (at any time, I would argue) is an issue but I also think it is a pretty stupid rule to now allow sales of alcohol before 10:00. It isn't going to stop those with problematic drink habits, it may even exacerbate the issue by encouraging them to 'stock up'.

I bought a bottle of wine the other day at 7.30am. I was for a colleague as a thank you for something she’d done for me outside of work, so I picked it up on the way in. Surely the habitual daytime drinkers would know the 10am rule where you are? It’s more likely that those who’ve tried to buy it are those who buy alcohol rarely.

This happens to me at least once a year even though I know the rules.
I just completely forget and want to buy alcohol for an event later that week.

This.

And when my friends and I meet up we do daytime drinking and are tucked up in bed by 10.30pm!

If someone goes into the supermarket at 7am and buys four lamb chops, a pack of loo rolls, some shower gel and a tub of ice cream do you assume they're going straight home to use them all immediately? Or would you, like any normal person, just think they were buying things they'd run out of and usually keep in the cupboard and/or whatever they were planning to have for their tea that night?

I’m in Scotland. It’s the law all over Scotland.

I try not to judge too much.

Some are buying for later in the day and it happens to be the time they go shopping. Others, they are alcoholics and they go super early to start drinking again.

I have had an alcohol problem before. I was going through a divorce, single mum to SEN child, enduring ongoing emotional and financial abuse from my ex which involved the police (blackmail etc). Admittedly, I turned to alcohol, really to try and turn off my busy brain for a bit. I frequently opened my alcohol as soon as I completed the afternoon school run and this continued until bedtime.

A really horrible stage in my life, and it likely lasted for around a year or so until I got a handle on it. It wrecked my health (blood levels, vitamin deficiencies), put on weight and took away from hobbies, family time etc.

I now only drink about once per week, to unwind.

I think that's the point PP makes. Someone with an alcohol dependency would know they can't buy it before 10am. Someone buying an occasional bottle might not realise or forget..

It sounds like what you’re talking about though is people who are drunk and disorderly during the day in the shops. That is certainly indicative of wider social problems in many city centres.

That said, I’m a recovering alcoholic. I very rarely was at the shop buying wine at 9am. Unless it was to go into a picnic lunch we were having later that day. I mostly bought alcohol after 3-4pm. It didn’t stop me drinking 200 units a week though.

People do buy alcohol in their supermarket shopping to drink another time! Why do you think they’ll all be necking it at 9.15am?

Surely it’s about what time you’re drinking it, not what time you buy it?

The other thing you’ve pointed out to point to a problem of course, drinking in the foyer of a supermarket?!

Very odd rule that people doing a very standard Saturday morning weekly shop can’t buy wine with it if they’re getting their shopping done pre-10am. I don’t drink at all, but did used to work on checkouts and I don’t think everyone I sold a bottle of wine to in the morning had a drinking problem.

You’re conflating two issues here. I don’t think there is anything wrong with wanting to get some alcohol with your weekly shop and what actual difference does it make if you buy it at 9.55 or 10.05? I’m in Scotland too. This irritates me because I prefer to get my shopping early to avoid the business and to get on with the rest of my Saturday plans. I don’t think it points to any wider issue that some people want to do this.
There has always been alcoholism and there has always been people who drink to problematic levels at all times of day so I’m not sure what you think has changed.
Having said that, I do think alcohol misuse is a massive problem. I’m not sure what the solution is other than increasing pricing. But I suppose that penalises people who drink responsibly. I’m not sure I’d care about that really if it meant lowering the levels of problematic alcohol use.

The in site duty mamanger could loose their job/ licence for selling alcohol out of hours or to a person who is intoxicated

I've experienced alcoholism in my family and serving slightly later isn't going to do anything to help an alcoholic. It's just inconveniencing people that want to buy a bottle of wine to have with dinner later on.

Just from what I've seen attitudes to alcohol are changing in the younger generation. My friend's daughter is at uni, there's about 8 of them that go to the pub a couple of times a week and only one of them drinks. The others just drink coke!

I have a few younger cousins and apart from one of them they don't drink much either.

It's not like it was when I was a student with £1 alcopops and shots. I don't think they can afford to drink in pubs now.

That’s actually a very good point

I do my foodshop early sometimes, 6.30/7am, and so buy alcohol usually wine and cider, I then go to the stables see my horse and WFH, I'm not necking wine at 7am! So you are being unreasonable!

Lolz I purchased a few moth cocktail cans at 8.30 this morning when I was doing my shop for the weekend

I’ve only opened one now though

Sorry I meant to actually respond to someone else’s comment!

I too am Scottish and live in Scotland. I don't know how old you are but we have a reputation world wide of a nation of people who love a drink. We also have for as long as I've been alive had issues with alcohol consumption (a nice way of saying alcohol addiction). The younger generation (my daughter is 26) certainly don't drink anyway near the amount my generation drank. Before kids I did night shifts and we used to go to the pub afterwards.

I'm scottish and the rules really annoy me. Mainly because I tend to get an early grocery delivery slot and so can't buy alcohol. Or non alcoholic beer... which is crazy! I'm not drinking it straight away.

I don't expect it makes a difference to alcohol consumption. The alcoholic near me isn't out of bed until at least midday.

I don't think the times when people are buying a bottle is the problem but the fact you can buy alcohol everywhere that is the problem, i mean you can even buy the stuff in petrol stations ! I think it is time we went back to only selling it in Off licenses. Too many people drink way too much.

We've been to amazing hotels on holiday & its the people not from UK who are necking the fizz at breakfast. The waiters keep having to replace the bottles🤢

IMO Supermarkets should not be able to sell alcohol at all. Alcohol drinkers should have to go to a specialist off-licence to buy their booze.