Thread: sweeping changes in alcohol laws

Banning advertising: No impact. I haven't seen a cigarette ad in a few years; I still smoke. I see liquor ads all the time and don't make my purchasing decisions based on what I see. (Bud Light with lime? Really? Are you serious?)

State liquor stores are about revenue. Period. A tax, a fee, a profit. Revenue. The State of New Hampshire has a huge store on every major road leading into it. Most cars are from out of state. Including Massachusetts Legislators than enacted laws to raise taxes (Kennedy jokes abound from Sunday road trips to NH). Tennessee has State liquor stores. Moonshine is popular there.
Social order or health? Nope, We know how well prohibition worked.
Just say no!

I seem to run across drunks on the subway here. I don't think it's ever been legal to drink on them.

I'm so confused about freedom sometimes.

So, some people in a free society (as pertains to alcohol - free to buy it, consume it, etc.) will drink themselves to death. This is conceded; Some other people in that same free setting will NOT drink themselves to death.

So is it Best (and is it Freedom?) to:
- allow all the people to drink, even those who choose to wipe themselves out with it?
- allow only some people to drink, and not those who've shown predilection toward self-immolation with it?
- slow down the process of buying alcohol, but not limit its availability, and empower the sellers of the alcohol with the right to make personal judgments on the tendency to alcoholism of each customer as they approach?
- Inform society that alcohol is ultimately a poisonous detriment and illegalize it entirely?

All of these have been tried in the past, but people still drink. I'm not confused about that - it's been suggested it's simply the 'death instinct' some humans carry - but I *AM* confused on what's best on a sociological scale, what lets people have the most personal liberty without turning our (collective) societies cold toward those in need.

I can't say I'd be bothered by having to wait in line for a bottle of red wine or what-have-you; it's not terribly different (as general cash-to-bottle delay time goes) from the system of magnet-tagging alcohol bottles that stores out here use - each tag requisite of manual removal at the cash register, and each removal taking a considerable amount of time (at least at my local store).... But I'm surprised the system you describe out in the nordic countries hasn't already been corrupted, played and cheated by those motivated to get a drink, who can't. I would have thought it would've become like the US food stamps system, (oft illegally) used like a form of currency to ultimately provide the most desired objects to the most desiring hands. The idea that this alcohol-queue system still stands and functions is more a testament to the honesty of the people in the nordic countries, than anything else, in my own fuddled opinion. (When I was 16, it was no hard task to stand outside of a convenience store for ten minutes, give a stranger a fiver and get him to buy your friends whatever alcohol you needed.. ah, the commonplace US corruption)

It doesn't seem likely things will become like they are in the US, at least in my experience... people here simply don't respect alcohol, for good things or bad things, nearly like people do in Europe. As the bad goes, people are very quickly willing to judge harshly against a drunk, here (cue the celebrity DUI photo reel); and as the good goes, to have a personal moratorium on alcohol almost makes one seem an oddity, here. So on either side of the coin, we don't have much respect for alcohol.. European nations as a whole would have to do a lot of social FORGETTING to get to where we are with, methinks.

Спасибо за интересную тему для обсуждения, друзья мои.

Originally Posted by capecoddah

Banning advertising: No impact. I haven't seen a cigarette ad in a few years; I still smoke. I see liquor ads all the time and don't make my purchasing decisions based on what I see. (Bud Light with lime? Really? Are you serious?)

You are a well grown up person while the teenagers are easily affected by advertising. These days teenagers or people under 25 are really the beer addicts in Russia. The typical view of a Russian drunk man is changed from a grown up full of vodka for the USSR time to a teenager or under 25 full of beer for these days. This is why the beer commercials are considered as dangerous for making teenagers minds.

Originally Posted by CoffeeCup

The typical view of a Russian drunk man is changed from a grown up full of vodka for the USSR time to a teenager or under 25 full of beer for these days. This is why the beer commercials are considered as dangerous for making teenagers minds.

+500

Originally Posted by CoffeeCup

You are a well grown up person while the teenagers are easily affected by advertising. These days teenagers or people under 25 are really the beer addicts in Russia. The typical view of a Russian drunk man is changed from a grown up full of vodka for the USSR time to a teenager or under 25 full of beer for these days. This is why the beer commercials are considered as dangerous for making teenagers minds.

It does seem silly that beer would need a commercial.. it's like steak. Everybody knows what it is, go get one if you want it, or don't. =)

Originally Posted by kidkboom

It does seem silly that beer would need a commercial.. it's like steak. Everybody knows what it is, go get one if you want it, or don't. =)

How silly it may seem but during last couple decades the beer commercials were 9 of 10 of all the commercials at the night time on TV. So it did hit the minds of young people that drinking as much bear as you can is cool. The beer vendors fight to death for customers since they can get unbelievable profit if they would became the most popular vendor for beer. Some years ago the ban for showing up the bear commercials at the day time was released and the discussions in government for this ban were quite hot.

There are definitely worse countries to use as a model

Russia

But I have not seen a black or middle eastern person at all in the Baltics

I have :P - but mostly foreign students or tourists.
Those who think that you can parasite on social security here - better forget about it - you will live like a bum if you do not work
And Scandinavia also should reform its social security system to not allow immigrants or lazy locals to parasite on others.

I really like the way you sell alcohol Scandinavia, and would like that something like that here, but I doubt that It will be allowed - alcohol manufacturer's lobby is too strong.