This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/uk/6220875.stm

The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 3 Version 4
Britons 'not ready to drink less' Britons 'not ready to drink less'
(about 2 hours later)
Britons are incapable of emulating the European drinking culture because they "enjoy getting drunk," Labour party chairman Hazel Blears has said.Britons are incapable of emulating the European drinking culture because they "enjoy getting drunk," Labour party chairman Hazel Blears has said.
She told the Sunday Times people enjoyed "risk-taking" and "want to push the limits of danger".She told the Sunday Times people enjoyed "risk-taking" and "want to push the limits of danger".
She added that "maybe it's our Anglo-Saxon mentality" and that there were no "easy answers".She added that "maybe it's our Anglo-Saxon mentality" and that there were no "easy answers".
The government had hoped the introduction of 24-hour licensing laws would create a new drinking culture.The government had hoped the introduction of 24-hour licensing laws would create a new drinking culture.
Health implicationsHealth implications
Ms Blears compared British drinking habits to those on the Continent, claiming people abroad were able to drink much less when out socially.Ms Blears compared British drinking habits to those on the Continent, claiming people abroad were able to drink much less when out socially.
"I don't know whether we'll ever get to be in a European drinking culture, where you go out and have a single glass of wine. Maybe it's our Anglo-Saxon mentality, " she said."I don't know whether we'll ever get to be in a European drinking culture, where you go out and have a single glass of wine. Maybe it's our Anglo-Saxon mentality, " she said.
The 24-hour drinking was supposed to be the end of life as we know it. That hasn't happened Hazel Blears
But she added the new drinking laws had not been as catastrophic as predicted by police and opposition politicians.But she added the new drinking laws had not been as catastrophic as predicted by police and opposition politicians.
"The 24-hour drinking was supposed to be the end of life as we know it. That hasn't happened," she said."The 24-hour drinking was supposed to be the end of life as we know it. That hasn't happened," she said.
"The health implications worry me. People are getting quite serious health conditions earlier, things like liver problems in their twenties and thirties that perhaps before only came out in their forties and fifties."The health implications worry me. People are getting quite serious health conditions earlier, things like liver problems in their twenties and thirties that perhaps before only came out in their forties and fifties.
"I think we've got to do more education now - that has to be the absolute priority.""I think we've got to do more education now - that has to be the absolute priority."
Ms Blears is a former Home Office minister who had responsibility for tackling binge-drinking. A spokesman for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport later said the new drinking laws were "one important part of a wider effort to change the public's attitude towards alcohol".
Round-the-clock opening for pubs and bars was introduced in November 2005. That included the government's alcohol harm reduction strategy for England, the spokesman added.