Last Call for Chicago Bar Cars

Chicago drivers want messy drunks to pay $50

(NEWSER) - Chicago cab drivers want drunk passengers who vomit in their cars to pay a $50 fine. Drivers today asked the city for the penalty along with an overall rate increase of 22%. Chicago cabbies are among the lowest paid in the country, with wages averaging $4.38 an hour over their 13-hour shifts, the Tribune reports. And that’s assuming no one throws up in the back seat, said George Lutfallah, who represented the drivers before the council. More»

Brown calls time on drink promotions in effort to reduce rowdiness

(NEWSER) - British pubs that offer "all you can drink" promotions may soon find themselves banned from serving alcohol under tough new measures to curb binge drinking, the Independent reports. Gordon Brown declined to introduce a minimum drink price as some activists had called for, but the PM promised that the crackdown on promotions would help reduce the number of rowdy drunks plaguing city centers. More»

Restaurants sober up as patrons drink earlier to save money

(NEWSER) - There’s a recession on, and that’s forcing drinkers everywhere to change their schedules. These days bars are filling up in the late afternoon, the Los Angeles Times reports, as patrons pinch pennies by slurping happy hour specials. “We don’t see a change in what people are drinking,” said the beverage director for one bar chain, “as much as the time they are drinking.” More»

(NEWSER) - Britain may make "happy hour" specials illegal and force companies to put cigarette-style health warnings on booze bottles, the Telegraph reports. With alcohol taking more lives and costing the nation up to $37 billion a year in health bills, the government is also planning a public awareness campaign. Officials will decide on the happy hour ban early next month. More»

Health warnings may replace ladies' night

(NEWSER) - The British government is considering banning the bar tradition of free drinks for women and other measures to combat the overwhelming problem of public drunkenness, the Guardian reports. Explicit alcohol health warnings in pubs and a ban on drinking games may also be enacted. Drinks should not be promoted as a way of enhancing an individual's "social, sexual, mental, or sporting performance," warned a document issued by the health department. More»