Drink Driving, 35 microgrammes alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath

What laws apply to responsible drinking, drunkenness and public drunkenness?

Drink driving

A very important alcohol-related law is that prohibiting drink driving. Drink driving penalties (alcohol drink driving) can be severe, reflecting the seriousness of the crime. Drink driving penalties will be imposed if you are caught driving with more than 35 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. Drink driving penalties can include fines, loss of licence, and even imprisonment in serious cases.

There are a variety of laws that regulate the sale and consumption of alcohol, and your behaviour whilst consuming alcohol. For England and Wales, most of the laws about alcohol are contained in the Licensing Act 2003. Similar legislation exists in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Licensing and sale

A premises must be licensed if it wishes to sell alcohol. Selling alcohol without a valid licence is a criminal offence subject to substantial penalties. There are different types of licences that an establishment must have. They need a premises licence which allows them to sell alcohol on the premises (whether an ‘on-licence’ or an ‘off-licence) and a personal licence allowing employees to sell alcohol. Even if you only want to sell alcohol for a one-off event a temporary licence will be required.

Drinking in licensed premises

The licensee of a licensed premises has discretion over who they allow into their establishment. Despite what you may think, you don't have any rights of entry or to be served, although anti-discrimination laws do apply. The law prohibits the sale of alcohol to someone who is drunk. It also prohibits buying alcohol for someone who is drunk. So if your mate is refused further alcohol because they are drunk, neither they nor you are allowed to buy a drink which they consume. Closely related to this, a premises also has a responsibility not to allow "disorderly conduct" to occur on the premises. If you are asked to leave a premises by the licensee or someone acting on their behalf – such as security or staff – or by police, you must leave. Previously, in England and Wales last orders for drinks had to be made by 11pm. This restriction no longer applies and drinking times are now based on individual establishments. Scotland and Northern Ireland have more restrictions.

Age restrictions

It's illegal for anyone under 18 to buy alcohol or to drink alcohol on licensed premises. It is even illegal for them to be on the premises of somewhere selling alcohol between the hours of midnight and 5am. It is similarly illegal to sell alcohol to anyone under 18. It is even illegal to sell to someone you suspect is buying on behalf of someone who is under 18. However, an adult can buy beer, wine or cider for a 16 to 17 year-old to accompany a meal in a restaurant.

Drinking in public

It is not actually illegal to drink in public, however there are many areas designated as alcohol-free zones, such as in town centres and/or residential areas, parks and public transport in London. If police catch you drinking in an alcohol-free zone and request your alcohol for confiscation, you must hand it over. Additionally, being drunk and disorderly in a public place is illegal, although in practise the police won’t usually enforce this unless you are causing trouble – they may ask you to move on or go home.