British Pubs to Serve Lower-Alcohol Wine

The British government has agreed with pubs and bars across the country to stock and promote house wines below 12.5 percent alcohol. The aim is to curb binge drinking and alcohol abuse in the U, the effects of which are estimated to cost British taxpayers £21 billion a year

This week, industry representatives agreed on a range of measures to assist with this cause including asking bar owners and retailers to:

• Take super-sized cans off their shelves
• Take high alcohol cans off their shelves
• Stock lower-alcohol wines as their house wine
• Display and promote alcohol in shops and supermarkets “responsibly.”

The measures are part of the government’s Public Health Responsibility Deal which aims to remove one billion alcohol unit from the market, and implement responsible labelling system wide.

Like our News, please remember to +1 and hit follow!

Total Alcohol Ban For New & Professional Drivers if Scotland Becomes Independent

If Scotland becomes independent then new and professional drivers could face tougher drink-drive rules than other motorists on the roads.

New drink-drive laws that are set to be introduced later this year will see the current limit of 80mg of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood slashed to 50mg, the equivalent of one pint of normal-strength beer or a small glass of wine. Combined with this if there is a Yes vote, Scotland may follow the example of other European countries and reduce the limit more for young and newly qualified motorists or taxi and HGV drivers. They may follow the example of Ireland who 3 years ago introduced a limit of 20mg per 100ml of blood for learner drivers and cab drivers. Such a low limit means that even one drink would put them over the limit. RAC’s Simon Williams said: “We question whether a more stringent limit for professional drivers is needed because the law should either deem it safe to drive with up to 50mg of alcohol in the blood or not, regardless of whether you are a professional or private driver, or experienced or inexperienced.” Many other agencies such as The Road Haulage Association said: “More stringent drink-driving regulations is something we support.”

Last night, the Scottish Government said: “Independence will allow all decisions on drink-driving policy to be taken in Scotland. This could include setting a lower blood/alcohol limit for young or newly qualified drivers or for those driving in a professional capacity – for example, taxi and HGV drivers.”

Approximately one in eight deaths on Scotland's roads involves drink driving. Even though currently one drink would not put you over the limit it would make you three times more likely to be involved in a fatal accident.

Could Police Tell if You've Been Drinking Simply by Firing a Laser at Your Car?

I have to admit when I first came across this piece of information I was skeptical. However it does seem to be being widely reported and so thought you all needed to know.  Police officers may soon have a powerful new tool to prevent drink drivers taking to the roads. A laser-based device has been developed in Poland that detects alcohol vapour inside a car as it passes by. This could catch drink drivers before they behave erratically

The system works by detecting tiny changes in the laser beam as it passes through vapour, Scientists tested the device by aiming its laser at a car passing by at a distance of up to 66ft (20m). The car's interior had been filled with alcohol vapour, simulating the exhalations of a drinker inside the vehicle, it is capable of detecting alcohol at concentrations as low as 0.1 per cent. Researchers admitted that the device would possibly also identify cars where the driver was sober but the passengers were not, or if there had been alcohol spilled in the car.

The laser system that was created by the Military University of Technology in Warsaw, is set up on the side of the road to monitor each car that passes by. If it detects alcohol vapours in the car, a message and a photo of the car, including its number plate, is sent to a police officer waiting down the road. That police officer will then stop the car and check for signs of alcohol using conventional tests. Even though the system may also stop cars where passengers were over the limit and not the driver it will still decrease the number of cars that have to be checked by police and, at the same time, will increase efficacy of stopping drunken drivers.’

‘We are already familiar with laser instruments used by the police for speed-limit enforcement,' said Marco Gianinetto of the Polytechnic University of Milan researcher commenting on the Polish research.‘Now these researchers have demonstrated how a laser device could be effectively used for detecting drunken drivers, and thereby helping to reduce the number of accidents caused by drivers under the influence of alcohol.

‘From the practical point of view, there seem to be some countermeasures, such as driving with windows open, solar screens on the side windows, etc., that can be applied by drivers to deceive the system,’ the authors wrote in their conclusion. However, such situations are very easily detected by the system, which sends this information to the policeman indicating that the car should be checked.’

Scotland Moves To Slash Drink-Drive Limit

Under proposals due to reach the Scottish Parliament in the next few weeks drinking a pint or a single glass of wine could soon put you over the legal driving limit.

At the moment it would take more than 80mg of alcohol in the bloodstream per 100ml to make you a drunk driver, under the new proposals the Scottish Government wants to reduce that to 50mg. The move would bring Scotland into line with Germany, France and Spain. However it would create a situation where crossing the Scottish border after consuming one drink could lead to a drink-driving conviction, when you would have been driving legally in England.

The proposals have been welcomed by many families of those injured or killed by drunk drivers. Stacey Muldoon, a 23-year-old mother from Lanarkshire, was killed in 2008. Her sister, Leigh Payne, believes lowering the limit will prevent many other deaths. "We're coming into line with most of Europe and some of America. I think that people will now realise that it's not acceptable to have a drink . Physically ordering a drink and drinking it with your dinner you cannot do with 50mg."

Thirty people are killed on Scottish roads each year as a result of alcohol, 150 are injured and almost 7,500 people are convicted of drink-driving. The Scottish Government says lowering the limit is a priority. Yet it has been two years since it first consulted on the issue and, as a devolved matter, it does not require legislative action by Westminster. The Scottish Government said it hopes to introduce a bill affecting the change some time in August.
A spokesperson said: "We are working with Police Scotland and the UK Government to prepare for a lower limit, including obtaining the necessary type approvals for the devices used by the police to test drivers.
"As a lower limit cannot be brought in until the necessary approvals are obtained through the UK Government, we have made clear to the UK Government that we view introducing a lower limit in Scotland as a key priority which we want to introduce as soon as possible."

Company in US Launches New Powdered Alcohol

Palcohol, who are a US-based company are due to launch their new powdered alcohol range later this year, Their powdered range currently consists off both vodka & rum varieties.

Their website recommends that you dilute the powders in water or flavoured mixers, However comments already left on the internet suggest that 95 per cent of users will insist on trying to snort it, or rub it in their gums to get it in to their bloodstreams quicker. Palcohol have responded saying that "it would be painful to snort due to the alcohol and that it would take 60 minutes to snort the equivalent of one shot of vodka, why would people do that when they can so a real shot in 2 seconds"

Palcohol say that it will be available ‘in the United States and abroad’. Naturally, there’s been lots of opposition against the product – with anti-alcohol campaigners suggesting it’ll make alcohol more available to minors as well as making drink-spiking more common. Palcohol say that "the powder does not dissolve instantly and would take over a minute of stirring to dissolve the equivalent of one shot of alcohol in to a drink, making these claims unfounded".

What do you think, would you try this product ? Please leave your comments below, they can be anonymous if you wish.

Sources: Palcohol

First "No Alcohol" Lager on Draught Set to Hit the UK

Spanish beer Estrella Galicia was launched in the UK in 2012 and is now rolling out its 0.0% ABV brew in kegs to UK pubs and bars from this month.

“We are delighted to have become the first-ever brand to bring a 0.0% lager product to the UK in keg format,” said brand manager Lindsay Castling. "This is an exciting time for Estrella Galicia 0.0%, with a whole programme of activity planned to support and really push the product here in the UK.”

The Marketing activity is to be based around the beer’s sponsorship of the MotoGP, including current world champion Marc Marquez and its own team in Moto3.

The beer, the flagship brand of the Corporación Hijos de Rivera, is brewed using the exact same recipe as the brand’s premium 4.7% lager, and then the alcohol is removed post brewing. They have had an "extremely positive response so far, especially on taste, as Estrella Galicia 0.0% really does hold its own when it comes to quality against our 4.7% lager. We’re looking forward to offering a great alternative to the run-of-the-mill sweeter-style soft drinks in the alcohol-free sector,” Castling said.

Three of the brewery’s beers are currently available: Estrella Galicia Alcohol Free, the main 4.7% ABV lager and a 1906 Reserva Especial.

Source: offlicencenews

EU Backs Future Role for Alcohol Interlocks

Two new EU reports support measures to boost the use of alcohol interlocks in passenger and goods vehicles in the EU. The study that was by TRT (an Italian consultancy) for the European Parliament (EP) even goes as far as recommending legislation.

It says proposals to ensure the statutory use of alcohol interlocks for convicted drink drivers should be put forward within the next five years and that they could make a “relatively important contribution" to the achievement of the EU’s target to halve road deaths by 2020”, by preventing aproximately 6500 deaths caused anually by drink driving in europe.

.Other studies have already shown that the use of alcohol interlocks are extemely effective in cutting repeat drink driving offences. One of these, a Finnish report that was published last year (based on four years of data) showed a re-offending rate of 6% when interlocks were used compared to the usual 30% rate in Finland.

The EP study paints a mixed picture of the use of the technology as a preventative measure in commercial vehicles, the study suggests that mandatory use might offer a near-break-even cost-benefit ratio when used on buses and lorries, although ut says that the same is not true for vans.

The other report by a Dutch research consortium for the European Commission (EC), however, says that compulsory installation in all new commercial vehicles does have a positive cost-benefit ratio, but warns of a wide sensitivity range in its analysis and lack of "stakeholder support".

The issue of cost is a major theme in both reports, though the EC study points out that innovation could be key to mass adoption of the technology especially if in future the devices would become less intrusive and costs came down due to economies of scale in production or technological development the option of making an alcohol interlock a compulsory device in all passenger cars could show a “robust net benefit to society”.

The EP report recommends legislation to harmonise Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) limits, reporting procedures and the definition of drink driving across the EU.

Antonio Avenoso, executive director of ETSC, said: “While we agree with many of the suggestions in these reports, both miss the big picture. The fact is that bold EU legislation would, in itself, drive innovation and cost reduction in the market for these devices. “If, for example, the EU made installation mandatory in all commercial vehicles and required their use for all drink driving offenders, then we would see a rush of innovation and new players entering the market to deliver reliable, unobtrusive devices at low cost. We know that alcohol interlock devices work because we have evidence from several EU countries that show reduced re-offending rates. We hope the new Commission and Parliament will take a bolder approach to the deadly, and completely avoidable, problem of drink driving.”