Do you agree with our view that the enforced banning of conventional glasses in all Glasgow's pubs will be an unnecessary overkill? If so, please help us to campaign against this policy.

If you live in the City of Glasgow write to your local Councillor and your local MSP to ask that the measure be overturned before fully implemented in January 2007. You can find your councillor's name from:

http://www.glasgow.gov.uk/en/YourCouncil/Council_Committees/Councillors/

Then write to him or her at: The City of Glasgow Council, City Chambers, Glasgow G2 1DU.

Or email your councillor at: Firstname.Surname@councillors.glasgow.gov.uk

Send a copy of letters and emails to Cllr Gordon Macdiarmid JP, Convenor of the Glasgow Licensing Board at the council address above or email him at: steven.purcell@councillors.glasgow.gov.uk.

Ask your MSP to ask the license board to withdraw the proposal. To find out your MSP
go to http://www.Scottish.parliament.uk and type your postcode into the Constituency Location tool. You are entitled to contact all your MSPs.

If you do not live in Glasgow it is still worth making your feelings known to your Council and MSP. Your home town licensing board might be thinking of following Glasgow's example.

Here are some suggested points to make.

You agree with the desired aim of reducing violence, but disagree with City of Glasgow Licensing Board's approach of a blanket ban on conventional glasses. The number of licensed premises and individuals involved in violence is a tiny minority of the total and the offenders should be targeted instead of imposing a blanket ban on the vast majority of safe venues and law abiding drinkers. This is clearly the most sensible approach, since a ban on all conventional glasses will only prevent that ONE type of violence, while targeting premises where violence occurs and violent individuals will combat ALL types of violence.

Surely it is common sense to end ALL types of violence and this is best achieved by targeting individual offenders. This is the strategy used in Edinburgh which also has violence problems and in every other city world-wide that has such a problem. Only Glasgow is proposing a blanket ban.

While a 'glassing' is a serious incident it is not a common event and Strathclyde Police suggest that present small numbers are already falling.

Most plastic bottles are non-biodegradable and non-recyclable and their production increases toxic emissions by 100x compared with glass which is also recyclable. Plastic is unpopular with consumers who see it as an inferior and 'cheap.'

Bottling lines cannot be converted from glass to plastic so conversion would require highly expensive investment - at least £4m - in new plant, which smaller producers can ill afford.
Banning glass in the city's 1,200 pubs, hotels & restaurants risks doing serious damage to Glasgow's hospitality industry.

Plastic tumblers taint the taste of the beer. The drinkers least affected by introducing plastic containers will be the ones who drink to get drunk and don't care about quality. As this is the group that is responsible for almost all pub related violence it means that the licensing board policy isn't just punishing the innocent along with the guilty, it is punishing the innocent instead of the guilty.

Making your letter or email have impact

Make it clear it is a personal statement
Keep it simple & concise. Maybe only dealing with a single topic.
Remember to give your name & address and other contact details.
Explain how the issue affects you.
Present a polite, well-reasoned argument - aggression will not sell your message.
Ask for a response and later send a follow up letter to give thanks, or your disappointment, depending on the reply.