The unacceptable face of alcohol promotion

Title – The unacceptable face of alcohol promotion
Source – The Times
Date – 28th September 2009

The Portman Group is the ‘drinks sector’s’ industry body which set the standards for alcohol marketing, labelling, packaging, promotion and branded merchandising.

The code of conduct they have created should be adopted not only by drinks manufacturers, but by the Licensed Retail Sector as a whole; this includes bars, clubs, restaurants, hotels, licensed cafes, off-licences, shops, supermarkets, the events industry and any outlet where alcohol is available for purchase.

The fact is that the sector is going to come under sustained fire in a run up to the general election early next year and Gordon Brown has already indicated that further regulation will be among the key election pledges; we all know this really means it will be one of the areas where unrealistic pledges will be made…

There are two ways that the arguments are going to be settled, the first is that the sector is going to ‘police’ itself and rigorously enforce sensible guidelines or government (Conservative or Labour) will enforce their own guidelines through further restrictive legislation. The time has passed for complaining about current legislation and for everyone in the industry to be proactive in their approach to their own businesses and put their own house in order.

During our courses we continuously emphasise that licensed premises need to realise that Responsible Alcohol Retailing is the long term strategy to a successful business model and we emphasise that your business will be much easier to manage if you are ‘seen as part of the solution, rather than part of the problem’. The only way to achieve this is to be proactive in regard to industry guidelines and industry standards such as those presented in this full page advertisement by the Portman Group in the Times earlier this week.

The Portman Group’s Code of Practice:

· The alcoholic nature of a drink must be absolutely clear.
· Alcoholic strength must not be dominant.
· No association can be made with illicit drugs, bravado, aggression or antisocial behaviour.
· No suggestion can be made that drinking can make you more popular or sexually successful.
· Consumers must not be encouraged to drink rapidly or ‘down in one’.
· There must be no encouragement of illegal or immoderate consumption, binge-drinking, drunkenness or drink-driving.
· Marketing must not have a particular appeal to under-18’s, or use images of people drinking who are, or look, under 25 years old.
· There must be no suggestion that drink can enhance mental or physical capabilities.

For more information on the Portman Group and their codes of practice please visit www.portmangroup.org.uk.

At Beyond The Blue we run a number of courses for those working in the Licensed Retail Sector to help them sell alcohol more responsibly. These include; The Award in Responsible Alcohol Retailing (ARAR) designed for front-line staff to help them meet their statutory requirements; The National Certificate for Personal Licence Holders (NCPLH) which qualifies candidates to apply for their personal licence; Our Conflict Management and Resolution (CMR) course compliments these courses to help employees deal with Workplace Violence and alcohol related disorder.

Please visit our website at www.btbl.co.uk. For a complete list of Blog entries visit our National Press Archive page.

For more information on any of our services, please call us on 0845 602 55 95 or Contact Us.

Moves to stop ‘vertical drinking’

To view the original article Click Here

Title – Moves to stop ‘vertical drinking’
Source – www.bbc.co.uk
Date – 26th September 2009

More and more we are seeing local licensing authorities take on the licensed trade in their areas. In some town centres licensing authorities have swept through changes by taking all licensed premises to ‘review’ with the aim of restricting the hours they trade, adding sweeping conditions and in some cases reducing the number of premises operating in ‘high density’ areas.

In some cases we have seen vigorous defences being put up by the bigger operators who have the financial muscle to fight back with legal teams, but at the expense of ‘independents’ who can not afford the same ‘protection’.

In Reading’s case it will be interesting to see the approach they take. We highly recommend that those affected act proactively and make their feelings known during the consultation process, rather than just fighting the outcome.

Even more important is that businesses take a positive approach from the start and develop their business to reflect a more positive attitude to

Responsible Alcohol Retailing; work with the licensing authority to reflect their guidance and aim higher than simply feeding the binge-drinking culture. Heavy discounting has it’s place in business, but time is running out for those who rely on it within the Licensed Retail Sector; the future is going to be quality over quantity.

Those business plans which rely on discounting seem destined to suffer a future of battling reviews, additional conditions on their premises licence and the wrath of licensing authorities; who are set to be given even more ‘power’ to reflect local sensitivities in their guidance and approach to the Licensing Act 2003.

At Beyond The Blue we run a number of courses for those working in the Licensed Retail Sector to help them sell alcohol more responsibly. These include; The Award in Responsible Alcohol Retailing (ARAR) designed for front-line staff to help them meet their statutory requirements; The National Certificate for Personal Licence Holders (NCPLH) which qualifies candidates to apply for their personal licence; Our Conflict Management and Resolution (CMR) course compliments these courses to help employees deal with Workplace Violence and alcohol related disorder.

Please visit our website at www.btbl.co.uk. For a complete list of Blog entries visit our National Press Archive page.

For more information on any of our services, please call us on 0845 602 55 95 or Contact Us.

Legal ‘party drug’ GBL has destroyed my life

To view the original article Click Here

Title – Legal ‘party drug’ GBL has destroyed my life
Source – Metro
Date – 25th September 2009

If there was any doubt about the effects of GBL use or the addictive nature of this drug, then this story should dispel those myths.

We recently commented on the plans to make GBL an illegal class C drug. See our recent feature:

·

‘Legal highs’ set to be banned

I’m just posting this story to reinforce the comments made in that blog entry and to reemphasise the reasons why this dangerous drug needs to be added to the list of controlled substances. The arguments about which class it should fall into are for me secondary (no disrespect is meant to those who have suffered at the hands of the dealers exploiting the current ‘legal’ nature of the drug), the important thing is to get it classified so that the ‘legal’ avenues of sale are closed and it can at least be seen to be what it is; a dangerous illegal drug.
At Beyond The Blue we run a number of courses for those working in the Licensed Retail Sector including The National Certificate for Licensees Drug Awareness (NCLDA). For other sectors our bespoke Drug Awareness (DA) courses, which examine illegal drugs, their effects and the drug litter synonymous with their use, are specifically designed to reflect the nature of our clients working environment. Our Conflict Management and Resolution (CMR) course complements these courses to help employees deal with Workplace Violence and drug related behaviour.

Please visit our website at www.btbl.co.uk. For a complete list of Blog entries visit our National Press Archive page.

For more information on any of our services, please call us on 0845 602 55 95 or Contact Us.

Cocaine deaths jump by a fifth

To view the original article Click Here

Title – Cocaine deaths jump by a fifth
Source – Metro
Date – 27th August 2009

This should be a wake-up call for all those people who kid themselves that Cocaine is not dangerous or that they can control the addictive nature of this drug.

That the official figures put the number of deaths attributed to cocaine at 235, is sure to underestimate the number of deaths where cocaine use was a contributory factor.

This death toll also provides us with a stark reminder of the destructive nature of cocaine, both on long term health and social degradation.

Addiction in all it’s form and to all the various addictive substances has a profoundly destructive effect on communities, businesses and organisations, one which is perpetuated by misconceptions spread by dealers and users alike.

Drug Awareness provides guidance for those who work in environments where drug use is a contributory factor to lower productivity or

Conflict in the Workplace or where drug use and drug dealing threatens the business / organisation itself.

At Beyond The Blue we run a number of courses for those working in the Licensed Retail Sector including The National Certificate for Licensees Drug Awareness (NCLDA). For other sectors our bespoke Drug Awareness (DA) courses, which examine illegal drugs, their effects and the drug litter synonymous with their use, are specifically designed to reflect the nature of our clients working environment. Our Conflict Management and Resolution (CMR) course complements these courses to help employees deal with Workplace Violence and drug related behaviour.

Please visit our website at www.btbl.co.uk. For a complete list of Blog entries visit our National Press Archive page.

For more information on any of our services, please call us on 0845 602 55 95 or Contact Us.

‘Legal highs’ set to be banned

To view the original article Click Here

Title – ‘Legal highs’ set to be banned
Source – www.bbc.co.uk
Date – 25th August 2009

This is a story we first commented on in May:

·

Move to outlaw two 'party' drugs

It seems that after some deliberation the government is set to make the move to classify ‘BZP’, ‘GLB’ and ‘Spice’, with the suggestion currently being that they will become Class C drugs and therefore carry penalties of up to 2 years imprisonment for possession and 14 years for supply.

This strategy allows the government and authorities to immediately close the ‘legal’ supply of these drugs through the internet and ‘specialist’ outlets. In reality this ‘easy’ supply route will close relatively quickly as those people who tend to supply these products are generally the type that like to stay just on the right side of the law; hence why the products were developed in the first place. They will no doubt direct their efforts at creating replacement (slightly tweaked) product that takes them back onto the right side of the law and go back into production.

It is this continuous stream that governments need to keep on top of, rather than waiting for tragedy to occur before they act. The drug scene evolves all the time, it evolves to find cheaper routes to market, to provide drugs which suit the consumer and to set consumer trends. The supply of ‘Spice’ for example has already largely disappeared from the shops where it used to be freely purchased as the ‘suppliers’ have withdrawn in anticipation of the new spotlight being shined in their direction and high profile police raids; but note I use the word ‘withdrawn’ rather than ‘disappeared’, they will return with something new before long.

It is not just government and authorities who need to be aware of these new drug trends, businesses and organisations need to be aware of the effect these drugs have on their clients and service users and then knock-on effect they have on employees; both directly and indirectly through the often erratic behaviour of users.

Educating users tends not to be overly effective by government bodies who in the UK seem largely unable to be seen as anything but patronising; rather than as educators or providing proactive advice. In other parts of Europe positive education schemes have had some effect and the slightly ignorant view that any of these substances are entirely ‘safe’ has to a degree been dispelled.

BZP marketed as ‘Herbal Ecstasy’ by ‘dealers’ certainly sounds more appealing than the truth that it was trialled as a worming treatment for cows, but abandoned as it was unsafe for cattle, causing fits in some animals…

GBL marketed as ‘Liquid Ecstasy’ is a legal ‘substitute’ for GHB the drug of choice for some drug assisted rape perpetrators; it is derived from an industrial solvent used to strip paint and graffiti from walls and causes serious heart problems and seizures…

The key for those trying to understand and educate others is to rebrand these substances for what they really are, rather than allowing the ‘dealers’ free reign to name their products and use the loophole that they are legal to suggest they are safe.

They are legal because the government machine works considerably more slowly than the ‘dealers research & development’ teams.

At Beyond The Blue we run a number of courses for those working in the Licensed Retail Sector including The National Certificate for Licensees Drug Awareness (NCLDA). For other sectors our bespoke Drug Awareness (DA) courses, which examine illegal drugs, their effects and the drug litter synonymous with their use, are specifically designed to reflect the nature of our clients working environment. Our Conflict Management and Resolution (CMR) course complements these courses to help employees deal with Workplace Violence and drug related behaviour.

Please visit our website at www.btbl.co.uk. For a complete list of Blog entries visit our National Press Archive page.

For more information on any of our services, please call us on 0845 602 55 95 or Contact Us.

Last orders for the traditional pint glass as designers answer thirst for safer drinking

To view the original article Click Here

Title – Last orders for the traditional pint glass as designers answer thirst for safer drinking
Source – The Times
Date – 24th August 2009

We need to be a little careful not to get hysterical, the traditional beer glass is not going to disappear over night, it has been around too long for that.

However we also need to embrace change and not hang on to the past for nostalgic reasons. In an age when we can visit other planets and do more with a mobile phone than my imagination could ever muster; we can surely solve the undoubted problems of the pint glass.

It is sad that we have to design out the issue of the pint glass being used as a weapon rather than ‘design out’ those who would use it as such, but in some establishments this looks like it will be the only way.

But this initiative seems to accept that the final product needs to be functional and most importantly acceptable to the customer. We have long said that the policy of forcing premises to use plastic or polycarbonates is the easy option and is not always fit for purpose.

It may mean that there are no glasses which people can use as weapons, but there are always other weapons around which can be used by people intent on causing harm (I admit they may not cause as much harm) but they set the tone for a premises; a tone which is a ‘contributory factor’ and ‘trigger’ to disorder and violence.

You can’t get away from it, the more you distrust and patronise people the more they will behave accordingly. Finding an alternative glass which meets the needs of the trade and the demands of the customer should be welcomed. As an industry the

Licensed Retail Sector should get behind any new development and give their positive input to ensure the final product meets their needs and that of their customers; the alternatives currently on the market don’t and unless a solution is found local authorities are likely to increasingly add conditions involving mandatory use of these available alternatives.

Protecting customers and employees should be near the top of anyone working in the sector and this could be a step in the right direction if it meets the needs of all the stake holders; starting with the customer (without whose approval, it will ultimately be a waste). If we can make glass bulletproof to protect presidents, surely technology can be developed to protect our customers.

At Beyond The Blue we run a number of courses for those working in the Security Industry. These include; The National Certificate for Door Supervisors (NCDS) designed for those who require an SIA Door Supervisor Licence; In-House Security Induction (IHSI) which helps our clients train candidates in the specific systems of the premises in which they will be working and meet the SIA recommendation that all security operatives receive bespoke further training above their statutory requirements in the specifics of the premises in which they will operate; Physical Intervention (PI) for those who are required in their role to face and deal with violence in their workplace and may be required to restrain and / or escort aggressive customers; our Conflict Management and Resolution (CMR) course compliments these courses to help employees deal with Workplace Violence and alcohol related disorder.

Please visit our website at www.btbl.co.uk. For a complete list of Blog entries visit our National Press Archive page.

For more information on any of our services, please call us on 0845 602 55 95 or Contact Us.

Would you serve alcohol to this teenager?

To view the original article Click Here

Title – Would you serve alcohol to this teenager?Source – The Kent & Sussex Courier
Date – 21st August 2009

Underage drinking is creeping back up the agenda and this type of headline is not what the

Licensed Retail Sector needs right now. There are two sides to this type of journalism; it has a purpose but it is also fraught with the risk of sensationalising the problem.

There is clearly some kind of problem with the levels of training and enforcement in those outlets identified. What surprises me most in the number of outlets claiming to run a ‘Challenge 25’ policy and still failing to recognise this 17 year old.

The very fact that they are proactive enough to run ‘Challenge 25’ rather than the more common ‘Challenge 21’ suggests that they take underage sales seriously; equally it makes the mistakes more pronounced as they have this stronger policy in place.

There does need to be more emphasis on training and the standard of training also need to be examined. Training which just ‘ticks the box’ achieves very little and far too much training in the sector seems designed to ‘tick the box’ or to simply prepare people to pass an exam; rather than looking at ways to educate the sector.

Our courses are designed to prepare people for their examinations by educating them in the subject. Our very high pass rates reflect the understanding we give candidates attending our courses, rather than simply pointing them towards certain facts and statistics which may guide them in the exam questions, but which because they are not being presented in context are soon forgotten.

The personal licence course (NCPLH) in particular (which is now considered the standard training for those working in the Licensed Retail Sector) does not actually require any mandatory training at all; candidates can attend the examination without any preparation, training or self study and if they pass, can obtain a personal licence to sell and authorise the sale of alcohol.

These personal licence holders can then authorise others to sell alcohol without giving them any training at all. Only if something goes badly wrong is there any comeback on this approach.

It is the minority who take this lack lustre and irresponsible approach; but the fact is someone selling alcohol under the authorisation of a personal licence holder is currently not legally obliged to have any training.

To defend the sector and the many Responsible Alcohol Retailers, trading in this environment is very difficult. Journalist sending 17 year olds into shops to try and purchase alcohol (unless they were actively supported by weights & measures officers or the police) is not only counterproductive when articles offer an unbalanced approach, but also breaks the law; it is a criminal offence for anyone under the age of 18 to purchase or ATTEMPT to purchase alcohol. So even if no money changed hands this young man was put in a position where he may well have been breaking the law and subject to a maximum fine of £1000. There is also an offence of sending someone to purchase alcohol who is under the age of 18, which carries a maximum fine of £5000. Arguably if there was no involvement from authorised weights and measures officers or the police the paper itself could be committing this offence by sending this young man in to attempt to purchase alcohol.

But I suspect this is not something which would be in the public interest to pursue.

The fact is we need to encourage better training and enforcement, not to make the life of retailers difficult or more expensive, but to show-off the many good retailers in the sector and weed out the irresponsible ones.

Let us not forget though that the problems of underage drinking are much more profound than the retailers responsibility; society itself bares the most responsibility. It is well documented that much of the alcohol young people drink comes from their parents or older friends. Our society itself is also not innocent in the reasons behind young people choosing to drink alcohol. Maybe next time the journalists should first discover where the alcohol comes from rather than presenting their article as if 100% comes from ‘rogue’ retailers.

In the mean time, retailers need to be proactive and continue to improve their systems. Attending our NCPLH course they would have been given a written Underage Sales Policy which they can take away and adopt directly in their workplace, without the need to do anything more than incorporate it into employee training. We know time is tight and we provide many solutions tailor made for our clients.

At Beyond The Blue we run a number of courses for those working in the Licensed Retail Sector to help them sell alcohol more responsibly. These include; The Award in Responsible Alcohol Retailing (ARAR) designed for front-line staff to help them meet their statutory requirements; The National Certificate for Personal Licence Holders (NCPLH) which qualifies candidates to apply for their personal licence; Our Conflict Management and Resolution (CMR) course compliments these courses to help employees deal with Workplace Violence and alcohol related disorder.

Please visit our website at www.btbl.co.uk. For a complete list of Blog entries visit our National Press Archive page.

For more information on any of our services, please call us on 0845 602 55 95 or Contact Us.