G'day Rhayden
I dont drink alcohol in any form or frequent pubs but I can answer your questions. I have not heard of people specificly going to a pub to compete in a daily or weekly competition to see who can drink the most alcohol. Unfortunately, our teenagers go to pubs and "parties" where they binge drink to get drunk quickly and "enjoy" themselves. The breathalizers in the pubs (not all pubs have one) are to test yourself to see if you are under the limit so you can still legaly drive a car. The blood alcohol limit here in Aust, is 0.05 In the USA it is 0.08. It was 0.08 here a long time ago but the government reduced it to cut drunken driving. To use the breathalizer in the pub you have to pay about $0.80 but I'm not sure of the exact price. Perhaps someone can help me out here. There have been reports at times where the police stopped a driver, checked them with a breathalizer and the person stopped has a reading of over 0.50. This is ten times the legal limit. The police are now testing drivers for driving under the influence of ilegal drugs, cocaine, heroin, ice, etc etc. as well as the alcohol limit. These tests are done at the same time. The police set up a road block and pull every driver over to test them. It is an excellent law and I think most Australians suport it. If people wanted to use a breathalizer at the pub to see who was the most intoxicated, they would not be able to use the machine 'cos they would be too drunk to do so. Teenagers here have died from alcohol poisoning after drinking a 750ml bottle of rum or whiskey. Any alcohol level as low as 0.1 can be a lethal dose for many people depending on their age, weight and former drinking habits.
Joe