Outdoor City Urinals. Picture courtesy of "This Amsterdam" website

By Claudie Qumsieh

In London at weekends dark figures connected to the sewers rise out of the pavements: urinals. Edinburgh has unveiled plans for similar, if not as cinematic, urinals to address the problem of drunkards using the streets as make-shift toilets.

The proposal was outlined in a report into how the night-time economy of Edinburgh affects local residents’ quality of life. Public urination most affects the Grassmarket and Cowgate  areas according to Edinburgh City Council. “Urinating in the street accounts for a third of all fixed penalty notices for antisocial behaviour and a large amount of residents’ complaints.” a spokeswoman for the Council said.

The report was a response to give balance to a previous report on the benefits Edinburgh’s night-life brings to the economy. City leader Jenny Dawe said: “Obviously there are some people, particularly in the Grassmarket for example, where they see a different side to it, so this is addressing the impact that it has on residents and their quality of life. It shows that quite a lot is already being done to try to minimize the impact and that will continue being the case, because clearly we don’t want to have disgruntled residents just because something’s helping Edinburgh’s economy.”

According to suppliers Loo-hire UK “From delivery, to waste management, to collection – Loo-Hire U.K. take care of everything. This saves the local authority time and money in street cleaning services. The Four Bay Male Urinal portable toilet provides a public convenience and creates a more pleasant environment for everyone”.  Each unit holds 450 litres and is 200cm tall. They need no mains connection or set-up, and Loo-Hire U.K remove the waste.

Similar initiatives elsewhere in the UK have proved to be a success. Since Bath & North Somerset Council installed 2 portable toilets at a taxi rank in October 2009, the device has collected on average 30 litres of urine a night and 14000 people have used them. Bath Councillor Vic Pritchard said: “It is noticeable that fewer people are using street corners and shop doorways to urinate, meaning the police can deal with other anti-social behaviour incidents and council street cleaners can concentrate on grime hot-spots elsewhere”

Police street patrols will also be increased in Edinburgh to reduce public disorder between 2.30 and 3.30am.

By Euan Black

Edinburgh’s local business owners and residents gave the Scottish Government’s Alcohol Bill a lukewarm reception today.

The bill will outlaw volume discounting – offers such as two crates of beer for £14 – and make a ‘Challenge 25′ ID policy compulsory, and has paved the way for a possible Social Responsibility Fee which will make on and off licenses pay a sum towards policing and health costs relating to alcohol abuse.

However, the SNP’s key policy of minimum pricing of alcohol was rejected by the majority of MSPs, with the votes going 76 to 49.

David Simpson, 32, assistant manager of the Golden Rule pub near Fountainpark, was unhappy with the majority of the measures introduced by the bill, especially the Social Responsibility Fee. He said: “The point of a license is that you are licensed to sell alcohol responsibly, so having a license should imply that you are socially responsible, so I think this fee is pretty pointless.

“I think it will be harder for independent pubs, whose margins are being squeezed more and more. The massive chains like Wetherspoons will be able to absorb these costs. Inevitably, in independents prices will have to go up yet again to absorb the costs of a fee. Unfortunately, and I hope it doesn’t happen, more pubs may close and more people may lose their jobs.”

Mr Simpson supported the minimum pricing of alcohol to 45p a unit, believing that was the only policy that would have tackled Scotland’s perceived alcohol problem.

He said: “Minimum pricing is the only thing that would have helped. It wouldn’t affect the price of a pint, or of a nice £15 bottle of wine that I sometimes want to enjoy. What it would change is the price of stuff like cheap cider.

“I was in the local shop the other day and I saw someone buy four and a half litres of cider for £3. That proves to me that minimum pricing is socially responsible, and that the rest of these measures are just penalising the on-trade.”

Shoppers’ views at Edinburgh off-licenses were mixed. Michael Webber, a 24 year-old Edinburgh student, said he was “all in favour of a Challenge 25 ID scheme”. He added: “If people are offended by being asked for ID, who cares?”

Gail Stevens, 45, a part-time receptionist, agreed with Mr Simpson on minimum pricing. She said: “Minimum pricing should have been voted through – there is a problem with drink in Scotland.”

Callum Black, 20, a bar worker in St Andrews, also took issue with the Social Responisibility Fee. He said: “The fee is a big problem. How will they decide how much to charge? Smaller pubs struggle as it is.”

Three ex-Labour MPs involved in the expenses scandal, including Jim Devine of Livingston, have lost their final legal challenge to facing criminal trials. They had claimed they should not be tried as they were protected by Parliamentary privilege. Nigel Pleming QC, who represented Jim Devine, said had told the Supreme Court it was not “an attempt to take them above or outside the law”.

Cameron demands prosecution for violent students

David Cameron has called for the violent student protesters who attacked Conservative headquarters on Monday to be prosecuted with “the full force of the law”, while NUS Scotland President Liam Burns warned that the issues behind the protest must not be forgotten.

Child cancer death rates fall 60%

Cancer kills 60% less children than in the late 1960s, according to research from Cancer Research UK. Nearly eight out of every ten children now survive past the five-year mark with cancer, compared to less than three out of ten in 1966-70.

Harry Potter premieres in London

The red carpet premiere of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part One took place at London’s Leicester Square last night. The film adapts the first half of the final Harry Potter book, with the final part to be released in the summer of 2011.

Facebook sobriety test released

Andy Murray has reaching the quarters in Paris

The Queen can heave a sigh of relief this week as, after the creation of the British Monarchy Facebook account, The Social Media Sobriety Test was launched to help users avoid posting drunk messages. The tool allows people to block themselves from using sites like Facebook if they fail a series of coordination tests.

Murray reaches French quarter-finals

Andy Murray progressed to the quarter finals of the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris last night. Murray struggled through the early stages of the match, and was given a warning for throwing a ball in anger at one point, before defeating Marin Cilic 7-6 (8/6), 3-6, 6-3.

Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon

MSP’s are expected to pass Stage 3 of the Alcohol (Scotland) Bill today which will introduce key measures to address the issue of alcohol consumption in Scotland.

The Bill will prevent retailers from having drinks promotions and raise the age verification policy from 21 to 25.

However, key element’s missing from the legislation is the governments plans to allow local licensing boards to raise the age at which alcohol can be purchased from 18 to 21 along with the controversial minimum pricing for alcohol.

Opposition parties are thought to be opposed to minimum pricing as it could be illegal under European competition law.

It was stricken from the Bill in September and is not expected to be included in the final draft.

The SNP are thought to be frustrated by this as it was a key part in their proposals to tackle Scotland’s renowned alcohol troubles.

Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon, who is a key supporter of minimum pricing said:

“It’s no coincidence that, as alcohol has become more affordable, consumption has increased and, along with it, the levels of alcohol-fuelled harm and violence.

It’s got to stop. Scotland cannot afford – in either economic or human terms – to dismiss one of the most effective interventions we can put in place.

That’s why I believe that minimum pricing is a policy whose time has come. There’s strong and growing support for minimum pricing – from experts at home and abroad as well as, increasingly, the general public.

Indeed, I think it’s now universally acknowledged that pricing must be addressed.”

Another part of the Bill which will not be included is the prohibition of the sale of alcoholic drinks containing over 15o milligrams of alcohol per litre.

This section was proposed in order to prevent the sale of the much maligned Buckfast Tonic Wine which has been under much scrutiny due to it’s links with violence.

It remains to be seen the effects such a diluted version of the bill will have on Scotland’s drinking culture.

A number of pubs across Edinburgh have been investigated by Lothian and Borders Police for encouraging ‘irresponsible’ drinking through cheap promotions and discount cards.

 The City’s Licensing Standards Officers are currently investigating around 65 premises in connection with breaching the Licensing Scotland Act (2005) by offering price discounts and alcohol promotions to specific social groups – in particular – students.

Many pubs are now not allowed to give drink promotions

 Pubs and restaurants have been warned by Police that these types of promotions are now unlawful after recent changes to the Licensing Scotland Act (2005) and discount cards and loyalty cards are now not allowed.  The Act states that “no promotion can be given that encourages irresponsible drinking”.

 Patrick Browne, Chief Executive of the Scottish Beer and Pub association said: “Police Officers don’t yet have any formal approval from the Licensing Board and we at The Scottish Pub and Beer association believe that Licensing Officers have made a big mistake.

 “The Mitchells and Butler chain appealed one of the warnings their Dundee branch received two weeks ago, and are waiting on a Sheriffs decision. This will be Case Law and it would be premature if the Edinburgh LSO’s did anything before the Dundee decision”.

 As the promotion cards and discount loyalty cards are mainly aimed at students, I spoke to a fourth year University student to see what his views on the situation are. He said: “Drink promotions are great for students, who have to do everything on a budget.

 “Things like loyalty cards are great because they keep us students able to socialise and go out more. I imagine the pubs involved will feel a pinch in their profits if these types of promotions were made illegal. It’s ridiculous to ban these types of promotions for the majority, when it’s the minority that are actually abusing it.”

 Decisions will be made about those pubs involved in the Edinburgh after the Mitchells and Butler case in Dundee has been settled, and depending on what the Sheriffs verdict is, pubs across the Capital may have to change their ways.

For more information on current Licensing Laws visit www.legislation.gov.uk/asp/2005/16/contents

The reports aim to supply a more realistic classification list and was made by grading 20 drug types, both legal and illegal, out of 100 points according to the recorded damage they cause to individual users (through hospital admittance for overdoses and rehabilitation admittance) as well as society as a whole through instances such as drug-related assaults.

The report’s findings show that “heroin, crack cocaine, and metamfetamine were the most harmful drugs to individuals (part scores 34, 37, and 32, respectively), whereas alcohol, heroin, and crack cocaine were the most harmful to others (46, 21, and 17, respectively). Overall, alcohol was the most harmful drug (overall harm score 72), with heroin (55) and crack cocaine (54) in second and third places.” The report is in a similar vain of criticism to the 2009 reports that lead to Nutt’s dismissal and is sure to spark controversy as the committee consists of several resigned Labour drugs advisers.

While response to the report is not yet fully formed, initial responses seem mixed as many members of the public are in favour of reassessing drug classification; however, many feel it is irresponsible to imply drugs such as heroin are less of a hazard when binge drinking is a growing problem in society. One concerned citizen, Harvey Osborne, commented: ‘If teenagers are widely experimenting with alcohol, it seems irresponsible to suggest they can already handle the most dangerous drugs’.

Drug users can be paid to be sterilised

By Ryan C. Gavan

The current campaign by U.S. charity Project Prevention to persuade drug and alcohol addicts to be sterilised in return for a payment of £200 has been condemned by addiction support groups.

David Liddel, Director of the Scottish Drug Forum, believes “the tactics and underlying agenda of this organisation smack of the discredited eugenics movements of the early 20th century.” He continued “all women, irrespective of whether they are drug addicts or not, should be offered family planning advice.”

Project Prevention was started in the United States by Barbara Harris, a child welfare campaigner .The charity’s remit is to prevent children from being born with birth defects as a result of drug dependent pregnancies. Their website states “the main objective is public awareness to the problem of addicts exposing their unborn child to drugs during pregnancy.”

The charity argues that “the average number of children per addict is 3.” This, they feel, can be easily prevented through cash incentives for long-term birth control or total sterilisation.

The number of children born to drug addicts is on the rise in the UK. A survey carried out by the University of Aberdeen shows it has increased 30% since 1998.  Last week the first UK addict took up the charity’s offer. The addict, from Leicester, was paid after having a vasectomy.

This has been likened to the programme run by Dundee Council to convince smokers to quit by paying them £50 a month.

A Scot, an Asian, a Native – American and an Eskimo walk into a bar, they drink the same amount of alcohol. Who will get more drunk?

The adult version of a candy store

What sounds like a funny riddle is actually an important question that US scientists answered this Tuesday: it’s in the genes. University of North Carolina researchers at the Chapel Hill School of Medicine found a new gene, CYP2E1, which instructs the body to produce an enzyme that breaks down alcohol.  1 in 5 people will tolerate alcohol less than others, leading them to be more sensitive to substance abuse or alcoholism.

Study author Professor Kirk Wilhelmsen commented on the results: “It turns out that a specific version of CYP2E1 makes people more sensitive to alcohol.” He also added that even if some questions were answered, and an important contribution to understanding the body’s response to alcohol has been made, the battle against alcoholism is still a long way from finished: “But alcoholism is a very complex disease and there are lots of complicated reasons why people drink. This may be just one of the reasons.”

The Day After Stats

Scotland ranks 8th in the world and in top place in the EU for alcohol consumption per head of population, according to Alcohol Focus Scotland and EU public health statistics. This costs the tax payers an estimate of 3,5 billions per year. As one in every 20 deaths and 1 in 10 accident & emergency admissions is attributed to alcohol, the numbers are painting a sinister picture and raising a serious alarm sign about the fact that the real bad effects of alcohol are a lot more painful than a bad hangover.

Born Different

Alcohol tolerance is determined by our genes and our genes are determined by our ethnic background, this means that alcohol sensitivity varies according to race. As an earlier study showed, European and North Americans have a higher threshold for alcohol compared to Asians, Eskimos and Native Americans. So in the case of all of them meeting in a pub, it’s the Scots who will have to take the others home.

Young people are being targeted in this legislation

By Ryan C. Gavan

The Scottish Government’s measures to give licensing boards the ability to raise the age of buying alcohol to combat Scotland’s binge drinking epidemic has failed. After a dramatic deliberation in a meeting of the Health and Sport  committee at Holyrood, the plan has been voted down 3-5 against in the most recent review of the Alcohol Bill after strong opposition.

The Bill, introduced by Nicola Sturgeon MSP, says, “There are clear arguments in support of raising the off-sales age,where appropriate, as part of a range of local measures to address local problems. Our proposal would have made it easier for Licensing Boards to apply a minimum age of 21 to off-sales but would not have meant that they had to do so.”

The measures stood against strong opposition from other parties. Lib Dem Health spokesman Ross Finnie MSP stated that “we could have been in the ridiculous situation where a 19-year-old army officer could not buy a bottle of wine to celebrate returning from the front line.” This shows the problems facing such legislation.

This has also been  criticised by youth groups such as the National Union for Students. In a statement put to the committee the organisation said “we do not agree that the evidence has shown that an alcohol purchase age of 21 for off-sales would reduce anti-social behaviour in our communities.”

Sturgeon comments that there is compelling evidence to raise the age of drink purchasing in off licenses saying ” We’ve considered international evidence which found that increasing the legal drinking age can have substantial effects on youth drinking and alcohol-related harm.”

The proposed amendment failed to convince the rest of the committee. Finnie now believes it is time to focus on more workable parts of the legislation. “We must now focus on the health related aspects of the Bill” continuing that it is more important to focus on “banning irresponsible promotions”.  

Other measures also failed such as the controversial proposal of minimum drink pricing. The SNP are focusing on anti-social behaviour with the upcoming Holyrood election on the horizon. They have suffered a number of recent blows including Alex Salmond’s decision not to hold a referendum on independence but rather seek greater devolution powers.