Government launches alcohol initiative but was has its Czar been up to

More embarrassment for Gordon Brown and a warning to all to beware of what you put on your social networking site.

Today sees the launch of its latest alcohol initiative which sees a number of measures designed to pander to the public agenda

A summary of its main points courtesy of The Guardian


· A new "yellow card, red card" alert system for supermarkets, off-licences, pubs and clubs that repeatedly breach the terms of their licences. At present the enforcement authorities only have a "red card" sanction of revoking a licence if there are repeated failures.

· A sharp increase in fines for drinking in designated public areas which have had a history of antisocial behaviour. The maximum fine for refusing to comply with a police request to stop drinking is to be increased from £500 to £2,500.

· An extension of the use of juvenile acceptable behaviour contracts - short of an Asbo - for drink-related behaviour.

· A curb of underage sales of alcohol in shops through tougher enforcement action. The "three strikes and you're out" penalty against shopkeepers who commit three offences in three months is to be increased to two in three months.

· The drinks industry taking action to stop irresponsible promotions.

Unfortunately it appears that Gordon Brown's alcohol czar,Dr Ziggy McDonald may not be the best person to be promoting a moderate drinking policy for a read of his profile of interests on his social networking site include

drinking sweet Manhattan cocktails and visiting exclusive late-night London bars

On a serious note though,check out this morning's leader in the Guardian for a debate that gets us away from the alcohol yobs endless stories.

A person with a drink problem often tries to change the subject. Alcoholics would rather complain about stress at work or the demands of hectic socialising than think about the drinking itself. Something similar may be happening as Britain grapples with its own collective alcohol problem. Weekend figures from the World Health Organisation showed that the typical Briton now consumes the equivalent of 9.3 litres of pure alcohol a year, more than the average Russian. But rather than focus on how much is being drunk overall, the debate fixes on particular groups and particular patterns of drinking, as if these alone were the issue.

Well worth a read