Britons drinking less beer as recession bites

Many pubs across Britain have closed their operation and the usual buzz surrounding them is missing as recession-hit people choose not to take to the pint to relax.

Besides job losses and economic crisis, beer lovers are also grappling with the 2 per cent rise in alcohol duty announced by Chancellor Alistair Darling last week.New figures released by the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) show that beer sales in the UK have plummeted by more than 8 per cent in a year, underlining the ongoing pressure on the ailing drinks and hospitality industry in the grip of recession.

The BBPA said fall in sales in the first quarter of 2009 was the highest first-quarter fall since 1997. The breakdown of sales across all outlets showed poor results, with many consumers opting to drink more cheaply at home. Supermarket and off-licence beer sales also dipped by 11 per cent.

The BBPA is the UK's leading organisation representing the brewing and pub sector. Its members account for 98 per cent of the beer brewed in the UK and own nearly two-thirds of Britain's 56,000 pubs. The organisation has led a campaign to try and persuade the government not to raise duty on alcohol further.

Buy a house, get wife, dowry free

"Planning to buy a house? Can we tempt you with the offer of a young bride - and a dowry as well?"

That's the bizarre sales pitch of a Beijing-based property developer who is struggling to combat a severe market slump in China that has seen home sales and prices plunge.

The company, Jin Tai Cheng, is luring potential buyers at its upmarket 'Ecological Bay' villa project with an invitation to date its salesgirls, whose photographs and vital statistics are put up on the company website. If the speed-dating service leads to marriage before May 30, the company will even offer a 'dowry' in the form of a 60,000 yuan (about $8,000) discount on the villa. The 'package deal', however, comes with a caveat: The couple should not divorce within a year!

The desperate sales pitch, evidently made in tie-up with a marriage broking service, is merely the latest manifestation of the grim outlook for China's real estate market.
"Many potential buyers are postponing plans to buy because of the uncertain economic outlook," says Li Jingguo, director of research at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), a leading government thinktank.

CASS professor Cao Jianhai says average urban residential property prices will likely fall 40-50% over the next two years.

The Chinese government has unveiled a 4 trillion yuan ($585 billion) stimulus package, but the real estate market has shown no sign of a recovery so far, notes Ren Zhiqiang, president of the Huayuan group.

But China's developers seem to have taken it upon themselves to stimulate the market by commodifying women and offering them as part of a 'free wife and dowry' package deal.

Drinking while pregnant 'weakens mothers bond with child'

Moms-to-be, here's another reason why you should stop drinking -- Downing alcoholic beverages, even in a small quantity, while pregnant can weaken a mother's bond with her child, says a new study.

Researchers at the Aberdeen's Robert Gordon University have based their findings after looking at 130 first-time moms with varying levels of alcohol intake.

After the births, the researchers looked at issues including delivery type, length of hospital stay, pregnancy and labour complications, maternal attachment and post-natal
drinking habits.

Subsequently, all the mothers were asked a series of questions after giving birth to determine the level of their attachment to their child.

It was found that the women who drank during pregnancy had significantly lower levels of bonding than non-drinkers. And, even mothers who drank no more than once a month, the study found, had to spend an extra day recovering in hospital. Dr Katrina Forbes-McKay, one of the researchers, was quoted by 'The Daily Telegraph' as saying: "This research confirms that drinking even small amounts during pregnancy has
negative outcomes for women.

"Alcohol use during pregnancy not only lengthens the mother's stay in hospital, but can be directly associated with lower levels of mother-child bonding."

She also stressed that the level of affection between a mother who drank during pregnancy and her child was not low, but lower than that of a mother who did not drink at all during pregnancy.

'Viagra rival'

Well, popping the common erectile dysfunction pill before sex could soon be a passe. Scientists have come up with what they claim is a new generation of more effective anti-impotency drugs which can be rubbed into skin.

An international team has successfully tested the new technique -- which involves tiny objects called nanoparticles -- on laboratory rodents and believe it could also be used to help humans.

An international team has successfully tested the new technique -- which involves tiny objects called nanoparticles -- on laboratory rodents and believe it could also be used to help humans, The Daily Telegraph reported

According to scientists, under the new therapy, nanoparticles that release the anti-erectile chemical nitric oxide are rubbed on the problem area, and absorbed directly into the skin.

In fact, of the seven rats treated by the team, led by the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, five showed signs of arousal.

"This is a very interesting concept which has potential to impact treatment of many conditions including erectile dysfunction if it can be translated from the animal lab to clinical practice," said Ira D Sharlip of the AUA.

However, according to the scientists, the new treatment would likely have fewer side effects than the common pill, which is taken orally and been shown to cause headaches and facial flushing.