All sober bar the shouting
Licensed trade reckons more young drinkers are saying none for the road
Pubs experienced a signif icant rise in customers ordering low and no- alcohol tipples over the festive period.
The organisat ion which represents the licensed trade says early indications show a rise in sales of “safe” versions of alcoholic drinks such as Heineken 0.0 and BrewDog Nanny State.
The increasing popularity of the beers and no-alcohol spirits has been linked to a generational shift away from booze.
Younger revellers are said to be staying sober as they prefer healthier lifestyles and want to look good on social media party photographs.
The Scottish Licensed Trade Association (SLTA) has surveyed more than 600 publicans to establish whether 2019 was a boom or bust year.
They expect the results this month but early feedback has revealed the sector witnessed a change in drinking habits during December and early January.
Spokesman Paul Waterson, who runs The Golden Lion Hotel in Stirling, said: ” We saw a move towards low and non-alcoholic drinks over the festive period even though you’d expected people to drink more alcohol because of the time of year.
“The feedback we’re getting is that the taste of low and nonalcohol beers is a lot better which is one factor in the increased sales.
“People also wanted to avoid being caught drink- driving, especially the morning after.
“They’d drink to 9pm then switch to the alcohol-free beers.
“There wasn’t the festive boom for pubs we hoped for.
“If you’re in a pub in the city centre, then you did as well as could be expected.”
The SLTA backed our Leave t he Key s campaign to encourage people to make alternative travel arrangements and avoid drinkdriving over the festive season.
Members worked with police by placing warning posters and notices in their premises about the dangers of drinking and driving.
The Scottish Government introduced legislation to reduce the blood-alcohol limit for drivers in December 2014.
Waterson said pubs in Scotland are closing at the rate of two a week and going on to part-time opening. He added: “Pubs are a funny thing. People don’t miss them until they’re not there.
“They’re not money making for a lot of people.
“It’s a difficult situation for the trade at the moment.”
NHS statist ics last year revealed a generational gap in attitudes towards alcohol.
Figures showed a 21 per cent increase in the number of over50s admitted for addiction, memory loss and dementia linked to drinking since 2013/14.
Admissions fell by seven per cent in the same period among those aged 15 to 49.
Experts said the difference was caused by younger people leading healthier lifestyles while alcohol still played a big role in their parents’ lives.
An awareness of drink-drive laws was also behind the drop in booze sales, it was claimed. Garage and Cathouse owner Donald McLeod, convener of the Glasgow Licensing Forum, said: “Our footfall for December 2019 was pretty much the same as the previous year.
“But we did notice a rise in sales of non-alcoholic drinks as not as many customers were buying alcohol.
“There was a noticeable change in drinking habits which may be down to a number of reasons, including a shift in at t itude towards alcohol.
“Our business held up but I heard takings in some venues were down 20 per cent.
“It was the same story from operators I spoke to in Edinburgh.”
There was a noticeable change in drinking habits