Alcohol Advertising

Hom3r · 01-12-2005, 21:54

What do you think?
With Christmas arround the corner, and a rise in drink driving, should Alcohol Advertising be stopped in December?

**Maggy J** · 01-12-2005, 22:31

Personally I think it would be far better if the government insisted on a TOTAL ban on drink and driving.If you drink you don't drive full stop.None of this 1 or 2 units crap.

Steve H · 01-12-2005, 22:44

Quote:

Originally Posted by Incognitas

Personally I think it would be far better if the government insisted on a TOTAL ban on drink and driving.If you drink you don't drive full stop.None of this 1 or 2 units crap.

Can of worms.

Lot's of things contain nominal amounts of alcohol. Mouthwashes, etc.

When should a person be allowed to drive again after a heavy night out? Should he wait a day? As I have no doubt alcohol is still in the system for quite a while.

If I get in at 3am, and have to be in uni for 10 - I'l generally be fine to drive. I'l feel more alert perhaps - but i'm over the limit.

Angua · 01-12-2005, 22:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by Incognitas

Personally I think it would be far better if the government insisted on a TOTAL ban on drink and driving.If you drink you don't drive full stop.None of this 1 or 2 units crap.

Call me a prig if you will but if I drive I do not drink at all. So agree with Coggy on this (yes there are substances which contain alchohol but they should have very clear markings).

**Maggy J** · 01-12-2005, 22:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve H

Quote:

Originally Posted by Incognitas

Personally I think it would be far better if the government insisted on a TOTAL ban on drink and driving.If you drink you don't drive full stop.None of this 1 or 2 units crap.

Can of worms.

Lot's of things contain nominal amounts of alcohol. Mouthwashes, etc.

When should a person be allowed to drive again after a heavy night out? Should he wait a day? As I have no doubt alcohol is still in the system for quite a while.

If I get in at 3am, and have to be in uni for 10 - I'l generally be fine to drive. I'l feel more alert perhaps - but i'm over the limit.

And just how much mouthwash would take one into the danger zone?How much would you have to use to to fail the test?

punky · 01-12-2005, 23:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by Incognitas

And just how much mouthwash would take one into the danger zone?How much would you have to use to to fail the test?

I asked a US cop about this once. Mouthwash alone will register up to 0.02% for a couple of hours, depending how much you use, how much you swallow, what brand, etc.

The current drink drive limit is 0.08% or 80mg. Therefore, mouthwash can account for upto a quarter of the current limit.

The drinking age in the US is 21, country-wide. Some US states have zero tolerance for under-21s. Some have the limit at 0.01 or 0.02.

**Russ** · 01-12-2005, 23:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by punky

I asked a US cop about this once.

And I asked a British officer - and he told me for the alcohol in the mouthwash to even register on the breathaliser, you'd need to imbue it about seconds before being tested.

danielf · 01-12-2005, 23:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by Russ D

And I asked a British officer - and he told me for the alcohol in the mouthwash to even register on the breathaliser, you'd need to imbue it about seconds before being tested.

And let's face it: Chances are you're ****ed if you want to freshen your breath before doing a breathaliser test...

punky · 01-12-2005, 23:36

Back on topic though, advertising has absolutely no effect on drinking. If you want to drink and drive, then you won't stop because there are no adverts on TV. Has smoking rates noticeably dropped since its advertising was banned?

danielf · 01-12-2005, 23:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by punky

Has smoking rates noticeably dropped since its advertising was banned?

Probably, but I doubt the advertising ban itself played a very big role.

Graham · 02-12-2005, 01:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by david.ewles

With Christmas arround the corner, and a rise in drink driving, should Alcohol Advertising be stopped in December?

The thing is a) would it actually have any effect and b) is Christmas really the best time to do this?

"When do accidents happen? - not just before Christmas. The highest national figures are consistently found in May, June and July. Statistics show that more people are likely to be stopped for drink-driving during the summer months. Statistics also show that drink-drive accidents are more likely to occur on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, than on other days of the week. Also late night and early morning (before 2am), are the most likely times for accidents to occur."

http://www.alcohol-services.co.uk/se...k%20drive.html

People are going to drink no matter what, advertising is more an attempt to influence which brand people drink, rather than induce people to consume alcohol when they normally wouldn't.

So banning advertising at one time of year (which isn't even the worst time) isn't really going to have any effect, what's needed is an entire culture change, but that's a very long process.

---------- Post added at 01:01 ---------- Previous post was at 00:59 ----------

Quote:

Originally Posted by punky

Has smoking rates noticeably dropped since its advertising was banned?

No, but that's because it's intended to either get people to change brands or encourage new smokers. Those who already smoke are unlikely to be affected.

punky · 02-12-2005, 03:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by danielf

And let's face it: Chances are you're ****ed if you want to freshen your breath before doing a breathaliser test...

I saw this on Mythbusters. They tried loads of so-called fixes including mouthwash, chewing gum to the more unusual, like onions and oddly, putting batteries in your mouth. None worked, and anyway the police can request a blood sample, and nothing will fool that.

http://www.mythbustersfanclub.com/ht...gue_pierc.html

02-12-2005, 06:42

If you drink you shouldn't drive simple as that.

Hom3r · 02-12-2005, 13:53

Refering to punkys post 6, It is impossible to have a zero alcohol limit as the human body will always have a small level of alcohol in it.

**Chris** · 02-12-2005, 14:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by Incognitas

And just how much mouthwash would take one into the danger zone?How much would you have to use to to fail the test?

'How much?' is an irrelevant question if, as you suggested in post 2, we go for a total ban. In such circumstances, anything more than 0.00% would be illegal.

---------- Post added at 14:05 ---------- Previous post was at 13:58 ----------

I don't think alcohol advertising should be banned. Alcohol poses a different sort of risk to society and health than does smoking. What is needed is for our culture to move away from idolising booze and trying to get as much of it down our necks as we can, in as short a time as possible. Driving it underground is unlikely to help dispel the 'forbidden fruit' image.