Booo to France!

France mulls happy-hour ban to curb youth drinking

• Reuters
• , Monday May 19 2008

PARIS, May 19 (Reuters) - France is considering a ban on happy hours in bars and on the sale of bottles of vodka and other strong liquor in nightclubs as part of efforts to curb binge drinking among young people, an official said on Monday.

The proposed measures are being discussed with producers and distributors of alcoholic drinks and decisions are expected within weeks, said Etienne Apaire, head of a government body in charge of the fight against addiction to drugs or alcohol.

"What we have seen in recent years is an increase in alcohol consumption among young people, and in particular an increase in the kinds of behaviour that lead to drunkenness," Apaire told Reuters in a telephone interview.

He said research conducted in 2005 showed about one in four French 17-year-olds reported getting drunk at least three times in the previous 12 months, while one in 10 said they had got drunk 10 times or more.

Apaire said one possible measure to counter the trend would be to ban "open bar" schemes in which customers can have as many drinks as they can manage for a set price. Apaire said such schemes encouraged drinking games and drunkenness.

Also being considered is a ban on "happy hours", during which bars or nightclubs offer cheaper drinks to try to attract customers earlier in the evening.

Other possible measures could include restricting the sale of vodka, whisky and other high-alcohol-content drinks in nightclubs to glasses, not bottles, and raising the legal age at which people can buy alcoholic drinks to 18.

Under current laws, teenagers aged between 16 and 18 are allowed to buy beer and wine.

Patrick Malvaes, president of a union representing nightclub owners, said the proposed measures would not achieve the objective of reducing youth drunkenness and improving road safety because most drinking went on in private homes.

"It's a stupid measure," he said, referring to the proposed ban on the sale of bottles of strong liquor in nightclubs.

"People buy bottles when they are in a group because it's cheaper and they can last a long time on a single bottle. Does the government want people to spend their money individually to get wasted on beer instead?" he said.

Apaire rejected the criticism, saying no decision had been taken yet and the government was not only tackling bars and nightclubs but also supermarkets, where there are currently almost no controls on young people buying alcohol. (Reporting by Estelle Shirbon; Editing by David Fogarty)

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