A controversial new law which bans bars from serving alcohol in glasses has been met with utter disbelief by Didim bar owners. The law, which came into effect May 13, effectively stops bars from the split-sale of alcoholic beverages out of their original packing. So anyone enjoying a glass of wine, a whisky chaser, & other short measures, can no longer order their drinks by the glass but will have to buy the whole bottle. Businesses found flouting the law will face fines of up to 10,000 YTL. The regulations have even perplexed representatives of the sector. The Marketing Director of Doluca Wines, Sibel Kutman, complained that the law was not clear. Ms. Kutman said,"The law lists clauses on tobacco & alcoholic beverages under one title. In its present state, the law would finish the sector; it needs clear paraphrasing." This clause might be barring the sales of glasses of wine but I think it alludes to the cigarettes sold at grocers."Chairman of Victuallers' Association, Coskun Güner, claimed the implementation only concerned the beverage and tobacco retailer shops in streets. Chair of Tourism, Restaurant, Club Investors and Managers Association Baris Tansever asked, "Shall we put the drink at our customer's table in a bottle?" The sector representatives express that the points of law will be settled by implementing regulations; otherwise it will become impossible to consume beverages outside of houses. The law states fines of up to 10,000 YTL for those who sell or present open beverages without a license and for those who sell tobacco products, ethyl alcohol, methanol and alcoholic beverages by damaging or splitting them. The first person to voice his concerns regarding what the restrictions in beverage sales might cause in daily life was the boss of Yazgan Wines, Nurtekin Yazgan. Mr. Yazgan had sent a letter to the Hürriyet Newspaper journalist Vahap Munyar, raising the points below: Wine is sold to the hotels and holiday villages in special 20 litre bags made of hygienic aluminium folio. The hotel then connects this bag to an apparatus as a draught with a cooler and tap (which means that they take it out of its original packing) and sells in glasses. However, the law bars this. The arrangement is expected to cause an increase in the demand for beverages in small bottles, such as 5 or 10 cc, because it specifies the buying of drinks in original packing at the bars. One method of escaping the law for restaurants is to write down a bottle in the bill for the beverage ordered in a glass and put a bottle at the table symbolically. This way, even if the customer drinks only one glass, no penalties will rise in controls.
