Alcohol in every corner of the supermarket

Simeon said:
Hmmmmm! Stocktaker/QC person wanted by large supermarket chain. Graduate of University of Life. Must be proficient in two of the following: Powerpoint, AK47, Glock. Attractive package, 3 ltr car, foreign travel, life insurance etc.
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Imagine the offers though, free adrenaline shot with every six pack of heroin.
 
qwertyuiop said:
I doubt very much that abuse of caffeine is leading to too much anti-social behaviour on our streets.
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How exactly is gathering all alcoholic products into one place in the store rather than having them dispersed around the place going to address the issue of alcohol fuelled anti-social behaviour then?
 
Calico said:
What about drugs like cocaine can cannibas? Should they be legalized and sold in supermarkets? Why/ why not?
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They should but that's not the discussion here.

From your posts I take it you want a legal and, in moderation, healthy "drug" sold in specific shops at specific times, because some people are not responsible?
 
I don't believe that any drugs should be illegal. It makes much more sense to control and regulate them imo.

Regarding alcohol though, I just think we need to get real. If you think people's drinking habits aren't causing huge social problems then I think you're living in cloud cuckoo land. Most people have no issue with it but the fact is large amount of people do. So why do we have such a problem and what, if anything should be done?

Given the scale of the problem as I see it, one of things we could try would be to roll-back some of the extreme marketing and availabilty of alcohol that we currently see in supermarkets for example. I think that is a measured approach to helping to tackle what in my opinion is a serious problem. I also think there is an argument for raising the price of alcohol. But I don't consider myself a nazi about the whole thing. I don't particularly want to have to trapise to an off-license to buy a bottle either but I woudn't feel like making small adjustments like that was an attack on my rights as some seem to. I wish everyone drank responsibly and there was little of no problems with alcohol like we have with coffee. That's not reality though.

Horizon on BBC2 tonight was actually quite pertinent. They listed the top 20 drugs with alcohol coming in somewhere in the top 10 (can't remember where) above the likes of ecstacy, cannibas, tobacco and lsd. They were candid about its physical and mental effects, particularly binge drinking, the cheapness of it, it's availability & the awful social problems it causes.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sn/tvradio/programmes/horizon/broadband/index.shtml
 
ClubMan said:
How exactly is gathering all alcoholic products into one place in the store rather than having them dispersed around the place going to address the issue of alcohol fuelled anti-social behaviour then?
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You were attempting to draw a direct analogy with caffeine.

Not at all comparable in most peoples book.
 
ClubMan said:
I don't see what's wrong with having alcohol or any other goods distributed throughout the store. One way or another those who want to use or abuse it will find it so I don't see what the point in corralling it into one spot is to be honest. In fact one could argue that putting it all in one spot might just give those who want to abuse it too much choice in one place. An argument as facile as the original one in my opinion.
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Haha:D I think the OP when a little OTT when she said she's 'bombarded by booze'. Visions of an 12 foot wine bottle chasing the OP around the store screaming 'buy me!!!' came to mind:D:p
 
Calico said:
Regarding alcohol though, I just think we need to get real. If you think people's drinking habits aren't causing huge social problems then I think you're living in cloud cuckoo land.
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I absolutely agree with that - but I fail to see how gathering all the drink into one area of the supermarket is going to change it. A huge amount of alcohol abuse happens in pubs/clubs or as a result of people using off licences. So long as its for sale at all, anywhere, its going to be available for those who have an abuse problem.
 
Also we must look at large countries with much greater populations than ours where alcohol is a lot cheaper than here, and where they have less social issues around it - such as France and Germany. Alas we cannot seem to take a mature view here in Ireland, and end up punishing everyone by making things much more expensive and less available, rather than tackling the source of the problem in the first place.
Our politicians and moral guardians blame the gun, and not the user of the gun.
Frankly it's pathetic.
 
I have removed posts which are off topic and attack posters rather than posts.

ajapale
Moderator
 
patspost said:
The other day I was in the supermarket and it struck me that at almost every corner, maybe the top or bottom of every other aisle there was an alcohol promotion.
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I think that alcohol should be confined to a defined section of the supermarket only, this would put less temptation in the way of those who would like to avoid it.
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I heard on Morning Ireland this morning, that this happens to be the policy of the National Off-Licence Association. To the OP, have you any connection with the off-licence trade?
 
MrMan said:
Has everyone else a connection with the supermarket trade?
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If you mean on this thread then no - I don't think so. Certainly not me anyway and I'm pretty sure not many or most of the other regular posters.
 
You can argue that locating the alcohol all in one spot isn't going to fix society's problems with it, but personally I don't think it's appropriate for it to be piled high in your face either. I can't remember seeing it stacked up on corners near the groceries but I would think it would be inappropriate to promote buying volumes of booze in a country which has a serious problem with it.
 
annR said:
I would think it would be inappropriate to promote buying volumes of booze in a country which has a serious problem with it.
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A drinker can do more harm to themselves with a normal 700ml or 1 litre bottle of spirits than with a 24-case of lager. Should we ban normal-sized spirit bottles so?
 
annR said:
You can argue that locating the alcohol all in one spot isn't going to fix society's problems with it, but personally I don't think it's appropriate for it to be piled high in your face either. I can't remember seeing it stacked up on corners near the groceries but I would think it would be inappropriate to promote buying volumes of booze in a country which has a serious problem with it.
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Just to think this through a little - what if you were having a dinner party for 20 people and you were providing the booze - then it would be appropriate for you to be buying a large volume of booze all at once - even if that only came down to 2 glasses of wine or 2 beers per person. So realistically you cannot draw conclusions from someones supermarket trolley piled high with booze because you dont know what the purpose of it is.
 
So realistically you cannot draw conclusions from someones supermarket trolley piled high with booze because you dont know what the purpose of it is.
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ehhh, I don't remember doing that. I would not judge whether it was appropriate for individuals to be buying something. I don't care if someone buys a shed load for their dinner party. I'm looking at it on a society level. I don't think it's appropriate to promote buying large volumes of it to as many people as possible given that overall alcohol is a problem in our society.

A drinker can do more harm to themselves with a normal 700ml or 1 litre bottle of spirits than with a 24-case of lager. Should we ban normal-sized spirit bottles so?
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Did I say that something should be banned? no. Are bottles of spirits on the edge of aisles being promoted with discounts etc? no.
 
Primetime did a feature on the subject on the availability of alcohol last night. Showed teenagers getting served in most places, talked about how alcohol was available for sale at every turn & how it is sometimes cheaper than water....
 
annR said:
ehhh, I don't remember doing that. I would not judge whether it was appropriate for individuals to be buying something. I don't care if someone buys a shed load for their dinner party. I'm looking at it on a society level. I don't think it's appropriate to promote buying large volumes of it to as many people as possible given that overall alcohol is a problem in our society.
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Apologies AnnR - I didnt mean to infer that you personally were drawing conclusions - perhaps I should have worded that 'conclusions cannot be drawn' as opposed to 'you cannot draw conclusions'.

I dont agree that overall alcohol is a problem in our society - there are a minority of people who do not drink in a responsible manner and a minority of people who have an alcohol abuse or addiction problem. But I think it is unlikely that how the product is marketed will change those people.
 
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