Sensible drinking

Reference is made to the On The Dot item Gargles (May 21) regarding the serving of alcohol by bartenders to individuals who are already showing signs of drunken behaviour. As an organisation founded by key members of the Maltese alcohol industry in 1997 with the aim of promoting responsible consumption of alcoholic products, we, at The Sense Group, could not agree more that at the place of consumption more can be done to avoid such instances.

Majority show concern for well-being of clients

In fact, TSG has a code of practice for all operators, which was distributed to most outlets selling alcohol across the bar in Malta in 2000 with the cooperation of both the Bartender’s Guild and the Chamber of Small and Medium Enterprise ~ GRTU .

The code of practice clearly states that a barman should refuse to sell an alcoholic product to anyone who shows signs of inebriation. It even goes beyond to ensure patrons are not encouraged to drink more than they should, especially if they intend to drive afterwards. One can check this out on our website at www.tsg.org.mt.

While we acknowledge that such situations still arise, we also have to stress that it is fair to say that the majority of operators abide by the self regulation and show concern for the well-being of their clients acting responsibly.