Drinking in public

Alcoholic beverage containers, particularly broken glass bottles,[9] are a common source of litter that is difficult to clean up, which may puncture bicycle tires, hurt wildlife animals, etc.

Alcoholic bottles are often discarded improperly, not recycled, or left in public spaces, which have negative impacts on the environment.

[11] Council rangers and authorized staff are allowed to use their discretion to confiscate and tip out open containers in public streets in officially designated alcohol-free zones within their council boundaries; but not arrest nor issue fines/infringements for this purpose, leading many to turn a "blind eye" to these infractions to avoid conflict and fights.

[14] Some cities, like Vienna, Graz in Styria, or Klagenfurt in Carinthia, limit public consumption of alcohol in specific areas.

[20][21] In Canada, except Quebec, possession of open containers of alcohol in public is generally a violation of provincial acts and municipal bylaws.

Open liquor is also illegal in parts of national and provincial parks, though this prohibition may not apply to campsites, as it is a temporary residence.

Those caught by law enforcement officers are forced to pour out the alcoholic beverage, after which offenders are sometimes issued a verbal warning instead of a monetary penalty.

[25] In Alberta, 2020 amendments to the Gaming, Liquor, and Cannabis Act enabled municipalities to designate locations within public parks where individuals may consume alcohol without being accompanied by a meal.

It is seen as a social and cultural staple, with alcohol consumption being broadly accepted in society and featuring heavily in both traditional Chinese folklore and modern-day media.

However, in 2018 as President Ivan Duque assumed office he established particular national ordinances that effectively banned public alcohol consumption as well as ruled out the "personal drug dosage" tolerance previously allowed.

In mid-2019, however, the Supreme Court ruled out these ordinances bringing back the people its freedom to publicly consume alcohol and personal drug dosage with the purpose of "developing the free healthy culture".

[40] While drinking on streets and public transport is technically illegal, in practice the authorities intervene only if a disturbance is being caused.

[46] Deutsche Bahn forbids "excessive" consumption of alcohol in Berlin S-Bahn stations;[47] violations are considered a civil and not criminal matter.

[51] In 2018, Hong Kong strengthened its liquor regulations, prohibiting the sale and supply of alcohol to persons under 18 in all premises, including retail stores, as part of broader efforts to curb underage drinking.

[55] The Republic of Ireland has no laws against public drinking, except that alcohol in a closed container cannot be consumed within 100 m (110 yd) of the off license where it was purchased.

Japan has no laws forbidding public drinking, which is a common custom in cities and parks, particularly during local festivals (matsuri) and cherry blossom viewing (hanami) in spring.

The laws that sanction it are regulated at the municipal level—being no federal outlawing on public consumption, as are the cases of Mexico City[64] and Monterrey.

For the most part, however, public drinking is still banned even if it is socially accepted and tolerated by authorities to do so in certain neighborhoods, communities, or localities.

[71] In Poland, since 2018 drinking in public has been illegal as a general rule, and police take a strict approach to enforcement of the law.

[2] Drinking in public is illegal in Romania, unless it occurs in spaces where events are organized for the celebration of New Year's Eve, the days of administrative-territorial units, of socio-professional categories or for the promotion of food or non-food products, but also in specially arranged and delimited perimeters where cultural-artistic events take place with controlled access.

[72] According to Article 20.20 of the Code of Administrative Offences of Russia, drinking in a place where it is forbidden by federal law is punishable with a fine of 500 to 1500 rubles.

[78] Sales are prohibited from supermarkets and convenience stores, such as NTUC FairPrice, Giant Hypermarket, Sheng Siong, Cold Storage and 7-Eleven from 10:30 PM to 7:00 AM.

But any person who, while drunk, behaves in a riotous or disorderly manner by rough words or conduct in a public place may be fined up to 100,000 won.

[84] Public drinking is regulated by municipalities in local ordinance, setting up zones where consumption of beverages containing more than 2.25% ABV is prohibited.

Although Switzerland has a legal purchase age of 16 for beer and wine,[87] and 18 for spirits[88] (18 for both in Ticino), it is not illegal for a minor to consume alcohol in public by federal laws.

[93] However, in these areas, police may request the individual to stop drinking and potentially also surrender their alcohol, both open and closed containers.

Police Officers can only request that alcohol is surrendered if the drinkers are acting antisocially or they have good reason to believe they are going to do so.

[94] These are formally known as Designated Public Places Orders (DPPOs), and were allowed by The Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 (CJPA); they are more popularly known as 'Controlled Drinking Zones' (CDZs).

Furthermore, under The Justice Act (NI) 2011, police can issue a fixed penalty notice to those over the age of 18 found intoxicated in a public place.

Open containers of alcohol are often concealed in public, traditionally inside a brown paper bag, though this does not make them legal in jurisdictions where they are outlawed.