Proposed Alcohol Regulations by CAMH

[Boges]

Talk about Nanny State!!!

http://www.newswire.ca/en/story/1185693/camh-study-says-ontario-can-improve-alcohol-policy

Positioning alcohol use as a public health matter, Dr. Giesbrecht is recommending 10 policy improvements:

• Adjusting alcohol prices to keep pace with inflation, preventing alcohol prices from becoming cheaper relative to other goods over time.
• Maintain government run monopolies which regulate access to alcohol by maintaining effective alcohol control strategies such as enforcement of the legal drinking age, the regulation of pricing, and hours and days of sale.
• Consider increasing the minimum legal drinking age to 21 years of age.
• Limiting the availability of alcohol by reducing the hours of operation, starting with LCBO licensed agency stores in smaller rural communities.
• Strengthening drinking and driving regulations by lengthening license suspension periods, particularly for repeat offenders, and impounding vehicles during suspension.
• Prohibiting the advertisement of price or sales incentives by all alcohol retailers and tightening restrictions on sponsorship, specifically those targeting youth and young adults.
• Ontario is encouraged to support a consistent physician screening, referral and brief intervention protocol by implementing a fee for service code that is specific to these activities.
• The Smart Serve Responsible Beverage Service program is encouraged to incorporate scenario-based activities into its training program and to require periodic retraining.
• Implement mandatory alcohol warning labels on alcohol packaging that include topics relevant to alcohol use such as drinking and driving, the risks of underage drinking, and chronic diseases.
• Develop a provincial alcohol strategy that emphasizes alcohol specific policies and interventions that have been recommended by the World Health Organization.

"In order to refine and implement these recommendations it will require leadership, commitment to reducing alcohol-related harms and a spirit of collaboration among key stakeholders," said Dr. Giesbrecht.

There is increasing demand for legalization of cannabis but with an already legalized drug, public health officials want adults treated like children.

Do people that support looser drug laws think regulations like these are anywhere close to being productive?

Ontario will never see legalization of cannabis for recreational use if the people behind this report have their say.

Edited June 18, 2013 by Boges

[Black Dog]

Talk about Nanny State!!!

http://www.newswire.ca/en/story/1185693/camh-study-says-ontario-can-improve-alcohol-policy

There is increasing demand for legalization of cannabis but with an already legalized drug, public health officials want adults treated like children.

Do people that support looser drug laws think regulations like these are anywhere close to being productive?

Ontario will never see legalization of cannabis for recreational use if the people behind this report have their say.

Yeah it's interesting how there is nothing about education in there. But hey prohibition worked so well the first time....

[The_Squid]

I understand where the CAMH is coming from, but there has to be a recognition that the vast majority of imbibers have no issues with alcohol whatsoever and don't deserve draconian restrictions put in place because of others problems.

Not all their suggestions are bad, but some are downright idiotic.

[workingclasshero]

It feels like they didn't learn anything in last ...well history of humankind. Changing the prices just because some goods are more expensive is pretty dumb though. How many people will change the amount of alcohol they drink per month just because the prices are steeper? They will only devote more money into it. And for us casual drinkers, it's just another stupid price increase.

And about increasing the legal drinking age. Why people always punish law abiding citizens just because there are some folks who are problematic? More so, why do always these people forbid and ban instead of teaching people to be responsible. Such regulations lead nowhere.

On the other hand, I agree on the strengthening of the regulations in case of violation like drunk driving, but "Limiting the availability of alcohol by reducing the hours of operation, starting with LCBO licensed agency stores in smaller rural communities" is nonsense. Sometimes I work late, I have no car, I travel by public transit and sometimes I like to have a drink at night or to take a bottle of liquor home...so why do I have to be punished too? I know it's still a small deal, I can live without alcohol etc. etc.., but I am talking about the principle here. They always take it from the wrong side and make it only worse.