Cyprus-Forum.com

[Oracle]

New alcohol law prompts fears for Turkish bar trade·

Critics say sale of drinks by the glass could end.

Robert Tait in Istanbul The Guardian, Friday May 16 2008

The Islamist credentials of Turkey's conservative-run government have come under renewed scrutiny over a new law on alcohol which critics claim could stop bars and restaurants from selling drinks by the glass.

The regulation, which came into force this week, bars the sale of alcoholic beverages and cigarettes outside their original packaging. Offenders could face maximum fines of more than £4,000.

Turkey's ruling Justice and Development party (AKP) has justified the measure as necessary to prevent unlicensed premises from illegally serving alcohol while enforcing the government's policy of banning smoking in public. Officials insist it is not designed to interfere with the bars and cafes that are integral to the vibrant nightlife of cities like Istanbul.

But critics claim it is consistent with an AKP "hidden agenda" of gradually eliminating drinking in public through a succession of escalating restrictions.

The new law also bans the presentation of alcoholic drinks as promotional prizes, a practice common in many tourist resorts.

Despite an overwhelmingly Muslim population, public drinking is common in Turkey's urban centres. Istanbul's fashionable Beyoglu district is littered with bars and cafes which do a roaring trade in serving beer and wine by the glass.

Kazim çaliskan, president of Turkey's tobacco and alcohol regulating body, TAPDK, insisted such trade would continue unimpeded. "This kind of sale is banned in shops and markets that do not have a licence to sell alcohol or cocktails out of their packages," he told the Anatolia news agency. "Restaurants that already have such a licence can continue selling alcohol in glasses. The ban is for those little shops in neighbourhoods that put some chairs and tables outside their shops and sell alcohol."

The controversy comes as the AKP is contesting an attempt by the constitutional court - Turkey's highest court - to close it down for allegedly trying to undermine the country's secular system. The court is also seeking to ban 71 senior party figures, including the prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and president, Abdullah Gül, from party politics for five years.

[purdey]

As a non drinker I see no problem with that. The only down side is Turkish business will suffer.
I note you changed the title from BRITS to now read Tourists.

[denizaksulu]

As a non drinker I see no problem with that. The only down side is Turkish business will suffer.
I note you changed the title from BRITS to now read Tourists.

On a more sober thought, thes regulations would be very useful in the UK. Its sickening to see the behaiviour of the drunken yobbo's in the streets everynight.

[purdey]

Here, here to that Deniz. For some strange reason it is regarded as cool, the thing to do ?

[Talisker]

Here, here to that Deniz. For some strange reason it is regarded as cool, the thing to do ?

Yes, in the UK the drunkenness seems quite bad amongst the youth. But are we all becoming boring old farts? I grew up in Scotland where drinking alcohol is, and always has been, an important part of socialising. I remember fondly many evenings in the pub as a student with my mates having fantastic, in depth, hilarious, argumentative, intellectual conversations whilst very definitely drinking to excess. It was just really good fun. Of course, it isn't essential to get drunk to enjoy oneself, but maybe many of the youngsters today are pretty much behaving as I used to. I can't drink now the way I could (and good thing too!), but every now and then it is fun to sit down with some mates, have a few drinks, and put the world to rights!

[tessintrnc]

My friend and I were driving to my holiday home in Turkey and passed a few of those little grocery type shops with a plastic table outside , these little places do sell you a beer or raki, but I have never seen people drunk in these places. I think it's a shame if it's these little places that are targeted.
Tess

[JimB]

Haven't been to the place yet so can't comment from experience.

Interesting article though as it displays an adverse bias on something that would normally be perceived as a 'good thing'. Thanks for posting it Oracle.

To summarise the original article, they are trying to ban sale of 'by the glass' alcohol and individual cigarettes from unlicensed and therefore unregulated premises.

Is this really going to hit the industry as hard as the article suggests?

Surely a dedicated bar / restaurant could reasonably be expected to already have a licence and therefore be exempt from this action.

Are there that many premises without a licence that wouldn't be able to obtain one if required?

TBH if I was the owner of a licenced premises and the business next door wasn't I'd be well and truly p'd off if the government didn't try to do something about it. It costs money to maintain a licence.

The proposal to ban giving away 'alcoholic drinks as promotional prizes' doesn't seem that big a deal.

The banning of drinking alcohol in public places (streets / parks etc.) has already happened in a lot of cities around the world. It's helped to clean up these open areas, reduced crime and anti-social behavior, and generally made them a more pleasant place to be in.

I'd actually argue the point that the local authorities are taking a huge step in the right direction. The 'right thing to do' isn't always the easiest thing to do.

[purdey]

It's not only the UK Talisker. The Brits have rather a poor reputation Europe wide. Riga, Krakow, Czech Republic, all have suffered under the excess of alcohol intake and the behaviour that follows.
Yes, I am becoming an old fart, I have no problem with drink in moderation but excess seems to bring out an aggressive tendancy with the Brits.

[Eliko]

I would suggest that 'Lost Revenue' is at the base of the new proposals.

If any small outlet wishes to serve alcoholic drinks, perhaps it is fair to insist they be licensed to do so.

If smoking bans have been enforced (as in the UK) generally, a serious loss in revenue is one of the considerations the governments have to deal with, hence large fines for non-compliance.

In the UK, a new scheme (or brainchild of the Office of Fair Trading) to recover lost revenues is being looked at, impose massive fines on the tobacco industry for price fixing.

Overall, whatever the Governments of any nation lose as a result of new legislation, you can bet they will invent some other means to recuperate that loss.

Perhaps Turkey's real plan is to issue thousands of expensive licenses and impose serious fines for trading without them, probably forcing price rises and increasing revenues which will compensate for losses elsewhere.

[denizaksulu]

It's not only the UK Talisker. The Brits have rather a poor reputation Europe wide. Riga, Krakow, Czech Republic, all have suffered under the excess of alcohol intake and the behaviour that follows.
Yes, I am becoming an old fart, I have no problem with drink in moderation but excess seems to bring out an aggressive tendancy with the Brits.

.....and Ayia Napa