Another irresponsible drinks promotion

The issue of irresponsible drinks promotions, especially those aimed at young people, has been very much in the news and this morning the Irish News highlighted another appalling example.

This time it concerned a video promoting a Tyrone nightclub.  The video showed young men and women on a 'party bus' taking them to Sense nightclub in the Glenavon House Hotel in Cookstown.  The nightclub advertised The Sense Express Way on its website, setting out bus pickup points in Belfast, Armagh, Newry and Portstewart, with tickets costing £20, which also included entry to the venue.

In the video young people were seen on the bus drinking spirits, including vodka, from large bottles.  This was not consumption of spirits by the glass but consumption by the bottle.  There was also a drinking game where beer was poured into a funnel and down a tube into a young person's mouth.

The Irish News pointed out that the law prohibits the consumption of alcohol on buses and that anyone caught in breach of the law could face fines of up to £1,000.

After the newspaper contacted the nightclub and the bus operator, the video was removed but the nightclub refused to comment.

It is clear that an irresponsible attitude to alcohol promotions is more prevalent than many people think.