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Post by flatin5th - Knight of the NC on Nov 17, 2012 16:17:13 GMT
so as not to hijack the Smoking thread Here in the enlightened UK, we can buy cigarettes and alcohol any time of day or night, and from a huge number of outlets! I was quite surprised, when we visited Canada, that supermarkets etc couldnt sell drinks! I was even more surprised when I sent some over as a present, it got impounded by Canada Post - and then vanished!  Maybe you North Americans need protecting from yourselves  |
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Post by Vivienne on Nov 17, 2012 16:21:10 GMT
What do you mean "drinks"? A bottle of beer etc? Canada has different laws and Trustme might be able to enlighten you on them.
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Post by flatin5th - Knight of the NC on Nov 17, 2012 16:25:47 GMT
drinks = anything with an alcohol content!
LCBO outlets only! Maybe it is a money making venture by the Canadian government? (Having said that - I have only Ontario experience to go on so it could well be just there!)
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Post by dit on Nov 17, 2012 16:35:40 GMT
I was quite astonished recently to hear an advert on my local radio station for a firm that will deliver alcohol to your home 24 hours a day. Don't think I'd actually like that job on the 5am shift, somehow.
Or perhaps I shouldn't be surprised - Blackpool (I live outside the town, honest!) has one of the highest rates of alcohol related deaths in the UK.
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Post by Vivienne on Nov 17, 2012 17:10:17 GMT
What if you serve an obviously drunk person. Is the seller at fault as well as the company. In some places in the US if you give a party and a person drives drunk and kills someone you are at fault.
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Post by FizzyLogician on Nov 17, 2012 23:53:53 GMT
In the US, the laws vary from state to state, including the hours of sale and what sort of stores can sell different types of alcohol. In most places, beer and wine can be purchased in supermarkets and convenience stores, but liquor is sold in state-controlled liquor stores. I think this is done primarily to collect state liquor taxes as much as to protect individuals.
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Post by amie8 on Nov 18, 2012 0:36:57 GMT
Cigarette advertising is completely banned in the UK and that includes, in many places anyway, actually having the packaging on display to the public at the tobacco counter. In my local Co-Op, they have sliding doors over the cigarette stand, so the products can't be seen.
It all seems terribly dishonest and pointless somehow. Everyone knows what's behind the doors and people can still buy their smokes, so why the masquerade?
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trustme
Smutty Mayhemer
Style never goes out of...um...style
Posts: 259 
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Post by trustme on Nov 18, 2012 0:51:06 GMT
Sorry to hear about your rude awakening to Canadian supermarkets, Flat! It's true, the only places licensed to sell alcohol of any sort are run/controlled by the government. Now I'm speaking only for Ontario, and I believe it varies somewhat from province to province, but here goes: We've got two choices when it comes to buying alcohol. "The Beer Store" (catchy name, huh  ) is where you go to buy beer either as single bottles or by the case, and also where you can bring back empty beer/wine bottles for the deposit. The LCBO (Liquor Control Board of Ontario) sells wine, some beer and hard liquor. Staff at both places are government employees and unionized, so that they are able to strike. It doesn't happen often, but you really should see the lineups at the store when the threat of a strike hits the public's ears! 2-hour lineups aren't uncommon. This staff is required to check your I.D. to make sure you're of legal drinking age to buy alcohol (in Ontario you have to be 19). Signs posted everywhere warn that if you look to be under 25 they'll check your I.D. Average prices for a bottle of wine run around $13-$25 but it certainly goes up from there! There has been talk lately of privatizing the industry and putting alcohol into supermarkets/convenience stores, but I don't know if that'll ever happen. If people aren't able to get to a Beer Store/LCBO to get their drinks, they can call a cab or even an organization called 101 Delivery who will drive to the store and pick up what you want for a small surcharge. The only real exception to buying wine at the LCBO is to visit one of our local wineries -- where I live is in the middle of a rich wine-growing region, and we have over 100 wineries to choose from! Some of our wines have won awards on the international stage, too, and we're (I believe) the only area in Canada where icewine is made. A lot of these wineries will ship bottles or cases of wine back home for you - if you live outside of Canada. There's a regulation in place that prohibits the shipment of alcohol to another province within Canada! The main problem with shipping things seems to be some rather light-fingered employees of Canada Post (sorry, honest posties!). Best to insure your package to help prevent that from happening... A lot of Canadians who live near the border will zip to the U.S. to pick up a bottle of wine/case of beer, which does tend to be a lot cheaper, although the alcohol content (of the beer, at least) is lower -- 3.5% compared to our 5%. We're endlessly fascinated at the thought that we can pop into a grocery store or convenience store and see shelves of liquor there for anyone to pick up! The real trouble is trying to get it back across the border. Woe betide you if you don't declare it -- you have to stay over in the States for at least 24 hours before you're allowed to bring back one bottle duty-free, and you have to be over a lot longer before they allow more than one bottle to come back. As an example, for Christmas last year, I popped over to get a bottle of absinthe as a gift since we're not allowed to sell that over here, and the bottle cost me $40. I declared it at the border and had to fill in customs/duty forms on it, and ended up paying another $45 in duty! Hopefully that helps you with some of your questions, Flat. I don't drink at all myself but these regulations have been in place since I was born and they're pretty much ingrained in the public's consciousness, so hopefully I haven't mucked anything up! ETA: sorry about the long post! Yikes! |
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Post by Vivienne on Nov 18, 2012 0:56:45 GMT
Absinthe? I didn't think it was available in the states. Isn't it highly toxic? I must do research. Thank you for coming through for Flat. You were the only Canadian I knew of on the board.
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trustme
Smutty Mayhemer
Style never goes out of...um...style
Posts: 259
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Post by trustme on Nov 18, 2012 1:06:53 GMT
No problem to pop the info up, glad to share it ;D Yup, absinthe is definitely available in the States (at least the part near to me) although I had to do a bit of online researching and phoning a few stores to confirm it. It is toxic in large quantities, but it's meant to be taken in small doses and is supposedly quite delicious. Never tried it myself, but I'm certainly not opposed to anything that includes a sugar cube as an essential part of the experience ;D
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Post by ljcteehee on Nov 18, 2012 1:21:12 GMT
I can say a little about South Carolina and North Carolina.
South Carolina varies purchase rules for alcohol from county to county. Some counties can sell beer and wine in stores every day of the week, and others (most) only allow it Monday-Saturday.
Most counties are moving towards allowing restaurants and bars sell alcohol on Sunday, but some counties still don't allow it. (We recently passed this, and it will take place in January.)
Hard liquor or anything over 13% APV is sold in ABC Package stores which are open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday. No hard alcohol can be sold on Sunday.
North Carolina ABC stores are open from 10 to 10, but only Monday-Saturday.
As far as South Carolina goes with smoking, it's actually pretty relaxed.
Taxes are fairly low on tobacco here, and they still have smoker's outlet stores.
Smoking laws also vary county to county. Some counties allow cigarette and cigar smoking indoors in special sections, or some bars are a completely smoke-safe area. If they don't then you can smoke outside 10-15 feet from the doorway. Some cities and towns are "Smoke-Free" which means you can't smoke at any public establishment or in public in city limits.
The biggest problem with Smoke Free ordinances is that places like cigar rooms and Hookah Bars were shut down.
North Carolina is a lot harder on smoking rules.
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Post by flatin5th - Knight of the NC on Nov 18, 2012 10:10:46 GMT
Absinthe? I didn't think it was available in the states. Isn't it highly toxic? I must do research. Thank you for coming through for Flat. You were the only Canadian I knew of on the board. I am English - but Canadian on the inside! I was more dissapponted with Canada Post than the LCBO set-up. That dissappointment is more than made up for by the wide availability of Tim Hortens coffee and donuts! It just means I have to visit in person - with liquid presents - rather than post stuff! |
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melly
Filthy Mayhemer
Aber ja, nat?rlich Hans nass ist, er steht unter einem Wasserfall.
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Post by melly on Nov 18, 2012 14:32:29 GMT
It's not the same but once a boy (who was 18 because i asked his ID) came to buy wodka and he gave it to someone who was 16. I didn't knew he would give that to someone else but the police saw that boy from 16 and he told the police that I sold him that wodka. The police gave me a fine of 350 € :-o
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Post by Wyvern on Nov 18, 2012 17:24:48 GMT
In Born to be Riled, there's a column called Land of the Free, Home of the Dim in which Jeremy mentions the trouble a colleague had buying smokes: Our cameraman had been dumbfounded in an Alubuquerque supermarket when, after asking for a pack of Marlboro, he'd been told 'This is a family-oriented store, sir. We're not allowed to sell you cigarettes.'Meanwhile, in Reno, Jeremy's waitress in a bar informed him she could not serve me with a second beer until I had finished the first.
Naturally, I asked, despairingly, why this should be so, and was told, simply, 'It's a rule.'The Top Gear battle with America's drinking and smoking laws has been going on for quite some time...  |
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Post by Vivienne on Nov 18, 2012 18:00:02 GMT
Being from Albuquerque it is unusual for someone not to sell anything. Of course we have the age thing which is 18.
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Post by adrianmay on Nov 18, 2012 18:07:42 GMT
Let's not believe everything we read. Jeremy does enjoy a little bit of exaggeration. I'm sure there is a little bit of everything here. Laws vary from city to city, state to state but somehow we still manage to get drunk and pollute our lungs to our hearts content. Pardon me while I go have a smoke.....shhhh, don't tell anyone. |
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Post by FizzyLogician on Nov 18, 2012 20:06:25 GMT
One more strange rule...In Vegas, hotels aren't (or weren't when I was last there) allowed to include alcohol with room service. So no overpriced glass of wine with your room service dinner. Go figure.
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) is where you go to buy beer either as single bottles or by the case, and also where you can bring back empty beer/wine bottles for the deposit. The LCBO (Liquor Control Board of Ontario) sells wine, some beer and hard liquor. Staff at both places are government employees and unionized, so that they are able to strike. It doesn't happen often, but you really should see the lineups at the store when the threat of a strike hits the public's ears! 2-hour lineups aren't uncommon. This staff is required to check your I.D. to make sure you're of legal drinking age to buy alcohol (in Ontario you have to be 19). Signs posted everywhere warn that if you look to be under 25 they'll check your I.D. Average prices for a bottle of wine run around $13-$25 but it certainly goes up from there! There has been talk lately of privatizing the industry and putting alcohol into supermarkets/convenience stores, but I don't know if that'll ever happen. If people aren't able to get to a Beer Store/LCBO to get their drinks, they can call a cab or even an organization called 101 Delivery who will drive to the store and pick up what you want for a small surcharge.
