Dec. 3 (Bloomberg) -- The U.K. government proposed a ban on “happy hour” at bars and organized pub crawls in an effort to curb excessive drinking.

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said the plans are among measures to tackle the U.K.’s binge-drinking culture and resulting crime and public disorder. They will be published for review by the public and businesses before a final draft of the legislation is sent to Parliament.

“I don’t want to stop the vast majority of people who enjoy alcohol and drink responsibly from doing so, but we all face a cost from alcohol-related disorder and I have a duty to crack down on irresponsible promotions that can fuel excessive drinking,” Smith said today in an e-mailed statement. “I will impose new standards on the alcohol industry that everyone will have to meet, with tough penalties if they break the rules.”

Alcohol-fueled violent crime costs the U.K. 12 billion pounds ($18 billion) a year, according to the Home Office. Britons are more prone to excessive drinking than residents of other countries in Western Europe, a 2006 survey by Datamonitor Plc showed.

Some 6,517 deaths were directly linked to alcohol in England in 2006, an increase of 19 percent over 2001, according to the U.K. National Health Service. There were 57,412 hospital admissions related to alcohol in a 12-month period between 2006 and 2007, an increase of 52 percent over the same 12 months in 1995 and 1996, the NHS said.

Mandatory Code

Smith also announced proposals for a mandatory code requiring pub and bar license holders to provide training for all bar staff and to inform patrons of the number of units of alcohol in every drink they sell. Bar owners said these demands would pile additional costs on an already beleaguered industry.

“We are encouraged that the government is seeking to focus on banning irresponsible promotions and urge them to ensure these measures cover everyone who retails alcohol,” British Beer and Pub Association Chief Executive Rob Hayward said today in an e- mailed statement.

“However, other mandatory-code proposals will impose an unnecessary, disproportionate and costly red-tape burden on well- run community pubs,” Hayward said. “They will condemn more pubs to closure and put more people out of work.”

Pubs Closing

Pubs in the U.K. are closing at the rate of five a day and 43,000 jobs in the industry are projected to be lost in the next five years, according to the BBPA, which represents the owners of two-thirds of Britain’s 57,000 pubs.

Happy hours are periods when bars sell drinks at reduced prices, usually two for the price of one, typically at times when they wouldn’t otherwise have many customers. During pub crawls, which are sometimes organized by social groups such as student unions, revelers walk from bar to bar and have a drink in each.

The proposals also include a ban on offers such as “all you can drink for 10 pounds;” curbs on promotions targeted at certain groups, such as women; and ensuring supermarket special offers don’t require drinkers to buy large amounts to take advantage of discounts.

A breach of the proposed law will lead to a review of a premise’s license and could result in a fine of as much as 20,000 pounds for the license holder and a possible jail term of six months. It applies to any licensed seller of alcohol, including shops.

On a typical night out, a Briton consumes 6.3 units of alcohol, 24 percent more than the average European’s 5.1 units, the Datamonitor survey showed. A 250-milliliter (7.5-ounce) glass of wine is equal to 3 units, according to the NHS, a pint (568 milliliters) of beer has 2.3 units and a large measure (35 milliliters) of Scotch whisky is 2 units.

To contact the reporter on this story: Thomas Penny in London at tpenny@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: December 3, 2008 13:15 EST