Would a total spirits ban work in England?

[daveinprague]

Its a dangerous game, and recent events here prove it...I know 23 are dead, and many have been blinded.

 

[cloud]

Can't you just take your own spirits in, the stuff they sell at Gatwick duty free is unlikely to be spiked with methanol

 

[crabface]

Surely this will just create more people moving to the black market to try and get spirits oveer 20% therefore potentially harming more people.

 

[StillHateBellotti]

If anybody is coming to Prague this weekend, be aware that no spirits over 20% will be available...anywhere...not bars, restaurants, supermarkets. No idea when they will lift the ban. A total ban following the methanol scandal that has killed 23 people so far, and blinded a lot more. Government has taken the step of banning all spirits over 20%. Was wondering if that work in UK? Im thinking its pretty easy here with only 10 million population. We had one positive at the bar..It was our last weekend, and none of the customers tried to kill each other, but I couldnt imagine a total ban like this working in a more populous country.

How the f*** would the Czechs survive a night out without Slivovice or Fernet! God i used to love that stuff..........

 

[00snook]

Prohibition never works.

It didn't work for booze in America when they tried it, it has hugely failed for drug use in every country where they are illegal, and it wouldn't work for spirits over here.

 

[fork me]

If anybody is coming to Prague this weekend, be aware that no spirits over 20% will be available...anywhere...not bars, restaurants, supermarkets. No idea when they will lift the ban. A total ban following the methanol scandal that has killed 23 people so far, and blinded a lot more. Government has taken the step of banning all spirits over 20%. Was wondering if that work in UK? Im thinking its pretty easy here with only 10 million population. We had one positive at the bar..It was our last weekend, and none of the customers tried to kill each other, but I couldnt imagine a total ban like this working in a more populous country.

I can't see it working for long there, most of the Czech's I know are pretty heavy drinkers.

 

[fork me]

Its the bootleg spirits that have killed 23 in the last week.... just seems a bit draconian to ban all spirits because of bootleg booze bought on the street etc...

Seems counter intuitive to me.

Let's get this right, legal booze is OK, illegal bootlegged booze is killing people, so ban the legal stuff.

Surely that will just up the demand for the illegal stuff?

 

[daveinprague]

Well, thats why I think its a bit draconian....as far as I can make out, it was a Czech Vodka, and the Czech Rum...
but having said that, we ran out of whiskey in the bar last year and went to the local corner shop to get some quickly, and
that turned out to be brown water....thankfully water, and not something that killed or blinded our customers

 

[Racek]

They have taken everything off the shelves until they can identify exactly what it was. As soon as they do, then it will be back on sale again. Give it a month and it will all be back to normal.

 

[daveinprague]

Yeah, its not permanent...

 

[beorhthelm]

Its the bootleg spirits that have killed 23 in the last week.... just seems a bit draconian to ban all spirits because of bootleg booze bought on the street etc...

this is seriously the authorities response to deal with illegal uncontrolled spirits, they are banning legal controled spirits

seems mindbogglingly stupid idea and no it wouldnt work here either. the bootleggers will just sell their wares as 20%, nothing solved.