Finally, a decision has been made and Sinclair Collis have been forced to drop their long campaign to keep cigarette vending machines lawful.

The long process started with Parliament passing the Health Act 2009 which allowed regulations to be made banning cigarette vending machines outright.

Sinclair Collis, a machine provider, and part of Imperial Tobacco, applied for a judicial review of Parliament’s passing of the Health Act 2009. The judicial review was rejected on the grounds that the ban was appropriate to protect public health.

However, Sinclair Collis were granted leave to appeal the decision to reject the judicial review. The hearing took place in March 2011 and their appeal was dismissed. Sinclair Collis have now been refused the opportunity to appeal that decision and the ban has been held lawful.

The ban will now go ahead for 1 October 2011.

For more information, contact
Head of Licensing, Malcolm Ireland
Malcolm.Ireland@napthens.co.uk or 01254 686211

The ICBD (International Centre for Brewing & Distilling) at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh has long provided the benchmark graduate qualification in Brewing and Distilling.

Now – through its ‘fit for work’ programme – the ICBD is seeking to equip its students with employability skills so that they are ready and able for the world of work.

‘Fit for work’ is built around three elements – basics, skills/capabilities and, most importantly, placements in industry. Whatever the descriptor – placements/internships or work experience – this gives the students unrivalled experience and insight into what it really means to work in the brewing industry.

The benefit is by no means one way. Employers benefit greatly from placements in getting things done (e.g. projects), a fresh pair eyes, unbridled enthusiasm and a ‘long interview’ in the event of a prospective employee.

ICBD strongly encourage all students to experience a secondment be it over the summer vacation between years or on graduation in June (Honours) or September (M.Sc). In 2010, secondments have been arranged with a diversity of breweries (and distilleries) and it would be fantastic to extend this opportunity more widely within the SIBA community in 2011.

For all of you who have premises licences that authorise the consumption of alcohol on the premises, the introduction of the Mandatory Code means that from 6th April, you have an additional three conditions on your premises licence.

The conditions are mandatory and are enforceable regardless of whether or not they actually appear on your paper licence. Napthens Solicitors, one of our supplier members and specialists in the field, provide a free e-mail update service to keep you informed of any changes in the law and the sector. Previously released e-mail updates advising on the introduction of the Mandatory Code can be viewed by Clicking here, and if you would like to receive future updates, please send an e-mail to Malcolm.Ireland@napthens.co.uk with your contact details.

Licensees who still want to run drinks promotions are being urged to check with their council or police first that it does not fall foul of the new mandatory code of practice.

The Home Office has finally published the full guidance on the code, as the first stage takes effect today (April 6).

The 18-page guidance sets out what constitutes an “irresponsible” promotion, but later, confusingly, says the government is not banning happy hours, pub crawls or general discounting of alcohol per se. The banned list includes:

- Drinking games – any form of speed drinking game

- Large quantities of alcohol for free or at a fixed or discounted price – such as ‘all-you-can-drink for £10’

- Prizes and rewards – ‘drink four pints get the fifth free’

- Sporting events – promotions like ‘half price drinks when England score a goal’

- Posters and flyers – adverts that ‘condone, encourage or glamorise anti-social behaviour or refer to getting drunk in any positive way’

- No alcohol can be dispensed directly into the mouth eg ‘the dentist’s chair’

However, the Home Office indicates the list is not exhaustive and “substantially similar activities” are also banned.

To see the full article go to:  The Puclican

By James Wilmore

The Portman Code of Practice on the Naming, Packaging and Promotion of Alcoholic Drinks is available to SIBA members on the forum.

the bitterness hop grown in trial by the National Hop Association

The first hop to come out of the National Hop Association’s breeding programme will be tasted for the first time by delegates at the SIBA Conference in Stratford-on-Avon on 4th + 5th March.

SIBA contributed £10,000 to save the hop breeding programme from Wye College when it was closed following the removal of Government funding in 2007. With support from the industry, including SIBA, the programme was restarted on land near Canterbury under the continued direction of Dr Peter Darby.

The hop to be tasted next month has been in trial for the last two years and is a bitter dwarf variety. Dr Darby explains, “Currently, many bitter hops are imported, particularly by the larger breweries. A domestic alternative will appeal to brewers who are interested in the provenance of their ingredients, as well as reducing their food miles. So we’re keen to get an early response from SIBA members.” The new hop, being a dwarf type, also requires fewer pesticides than traditional varieties.

Shepherd Neame have used the new hop in a trial brew, samples of which will be offered to the 300+ delegates in Stratford. Everyone tasting it will be asked to complete a detailed response card, giving their views on the bitterness imparted by the hop and whether they would consider using it instead of their current variety. Their responses will help the National Hop Association to decide on whether or not to proceed to the next stage in the trial, which would be to grow the new variety on a number of hop farms.

Don Burgess, SIBA’s technical director, said, “We’re delighted to be asked to give our input to the hop breeding programme in this way. The future of domestic hop farming is a subject close to the hearts of many SIBA brewers, so I’m sure many Conference delegates will want to sample the new hop and offer feedback.”

Drinks producers could have to adhere to strict new rules on labelling after a survey found 85 per cent of alcoholic products are still not being labelled properly.

The independent report found consumers are not being given enough information about alcohol units and potential health harms.

And based on the results of the survey, the government has launched a consultation on the issue, which could see the rules being tightened.

The options are: do nothing and continue with the current voluntary agreement; renew and strengthen the self regulatory agreement, or introduce a mandatory requirement on labelling.

A voluntary agreement currently exists between the industry and the government, which means producers have to put five key pieces of information on labels.

Public Health Minister Gillian Merron said: “Despite responsible efforts from some brands such as Bulmers, Fosters, Kronenbourg and the major supermarkets, overall progress on labelling is very disappointing.

To view the full article go to:  The Publican