Shocker: 24-Hour Drinking Laws Lead to Excessive Drinking

It took a team of leading scientists to figure this out.

Round-the-clock drinking has worsened Britain's binge drinking problem and should be scrapped, say leading British scientists.

Laws to liberalise the sale of alcohol have failed in their mission to create a Continental-style 'cafe culture' and instead prompted an increase in violent crime and turned streets into 'vomit alleys'.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown has announced a review of 24-hour drinking legislation after a dramatic increase in violent incidents in pubs and people being treated in casualty departments.

Now, in a damning report, scientists from the respected Nuffield Council on Bioethics claim that ministers ignored advice from the World Health Organisation when they introduced the reform in November 2005.

It warned that the only way to reduce alcohol consumption was to restrict its availability, limit advertising, and increase its price.

Instead, Tony Blair's Government made alcohol easier to buy by freeing pubs to extend opening hours, and allowed the cost of alcohol to fall so far that children can now afford to binge- drink on their pocket money.

Another stunning discovery in this groundbreaking research notes a propensity toward violence for those who choose to drink 24/7.

"Alcohol use generally increases risk-taking and violent behaviour," it said.

"Excessive drinkers, as well as being more likely to initiate violence, are also more likely to become victims.

"There are several direct impacts associated with drinking alcohol in terms of accidents on the road, at work and in the home, fires, domestic violence, and public order and violent offences.

"Drinking alcohol causes the highest level of harm to others and yet new legislation to reduce the harm caused by excessive alcohol consumption has not been introduced in the same way as we have seen for smoking."