Dying for a Drink--England Volunteers To Help

Two news stories today struck me as somehow related.

The first, from BBC, tells of new regulations in England and Wales that will permit 1000 pubs, clubs and supermarkets to sell liquor 24-hours a day. In these establishments there will never again be anyone to say, "Sorry, mate. We're closing up. Time to go home."

In the second story, we read of a 34 year-old man in Norway who downed 19 shots of tequilla in 90 minutes. He then fell into a coma and died. The bartender who served him the drinks was sentenced to 6-months in jail.....not for causing his death, but for serving drinks to an intoxicated man.

The story also noted that the bartender apparently tricked the man into thinking he was engaged in a drinking contest by downing shots of water to encourage the other man to keep drinking!

I suppose that popping into the pub for a "quick one" at 3 am might seem better than draining a bottle of vodka in your apartment by yourself. On the other hand, if you were already home, you wouldn't have to drive anywhere afterwards.

Note: As some sort of a public service the BBC attached a link to an article entitled "How Much Is Too Much?" Apparently the man in Norway hadn't read it. Too late now......