Sobering Thoughts…should there be Minimum Pricing on Alcohol?

It criticises Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s administration for being too sympathetic to supermarkets and drink producers, and for not paying enough attention to doctors. The report says that the government is guilty of a “failure of will and competence” over its alcohol policy.

“It is now time for bold government,” said Kevin Barron, the (Labour) leader of the panel.  A statement released with the committee’s report noted: “Even small reductions in the number of people misusing alcohol could save the National Health Service millions.”

The Home Office responded by saying it recognised “alcohol-fuelled crime and disorder is much too high”, and added it was looking into a wide range of measures to combat the problem, with the committee’s recommendations being taken into consideration.

Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman, Mark Oaten, described the effects of Friday and Saturday night binge drinking as unacceptable.

“Big night-time venues should make an up-front contribution to the costs of maintaining public safety,” he said.

The scathing report accuses ministers of paying more attention to the drinks industry's views than those of health experts.

Binge drinking and statistics

The report concludes that:

• Violent crime fuelled by drink costs the UK £12 billion a year.
• Alcohol consumption has risen 40 percent in England since 1970, to the equivalent of 120 bottles of wine a year for each UK adult, according to the nation’s chief medical officer.
• A minimum price per unit of alcohol could bring down consumption and reduce the number of people whose deaths are linked to drinking.
• A minimum price of 50 pence a unit would save an estimated 3,000 lives each year.
• The alcohol industry may lose up to 40 percent of its sales if everyone drank responsibly.
• It is estimated alcohol abuse in England and Wales kills 40,000 people and costs the economy £55 billion every year.
• Increasing the price of alcoholic beverages is one of the most effective interventions to reduce harmful use of alcohol.
• The drinks industry depends on people who drink hazardous or harmful amounts for three-quarters of its sales.

Minimum pricing is one of nine policy options on pricing offered to government in the draft. Others include tax changes and banning promotions. The document also suggests that duty-free could be outlawed.

Minimum pricing and the law

Home affairs committee chairman, John Denham, said: “The attention on 24-hour licensing misses the point – problems of disorder are occurring now. The underlying problem is of too many people drinking heavily in small geographical areas.”

The flip side is that drinks industry leaders have said they are concerned that “extremists” are seeking to hijack the debate and exclude drinks firms from discussions.

Critics say it would penalise moderate drinkers, but the Health Select Committee rejected that as a myth. It said minimum pricing would only cost a moderate drinker a few pence a week, and would target those who drink very cheap alcohol.

Mark Hastings of the British Beer and Pub Association, which represents tied pub companies (over half the pubs in the UK are tied), rejected the proposal for minimum alcohol prices, saying such a move would be illegal. “The Office of Fair Trading has consistently stated that price fixing or minimum pricing is prohibited under UK and European law,” he said.

The report said there was “no clear-cut evidence” on whether the round-the-clock drinking introduced by the government would reduce the number of alcohol-related problems. Differing closing times may reduce some problems, but may cause other difficulties for the police. It said: “The changes may make it more difficult for the police… to predict where and when officers need to be deployed.”

The proposals will not be legally binding, but will thrust the issue of excess drinking back into the spotlight as the UK prepares for a General Election – to be held in the first half of the year.

Minimum pricing has already proved a controversial measure, having been endorsed both by the Scottish Executive and the Chief Medical Officer for England, but rejected by the Prime Minister and the Conservative Party.

The report is critical of attempts to reduce the harm from alcohol through education campaigns. It states that these are ineffective at changing behaviour, and points out that drinks industry promotions cost many times what the government spends on encouraging responsible drinking.

The Portman Group, representing the drinks industry, said that minimum pricing would affect responsible drinkers, and should be targeted at the minority who abuse alcohol. “We can influence the irresponsible minority through better education and effective law enforcement,” said the chairman, Seymour Fortescue.

Minimum pricing – little effect on binge drinking?

There is a lesser-known and not much heralded report which hails itself as new consumer research. This suggests that a minimum price on alcohol may do little to curb drinking in the UK.

Only a fifth of adults in the UK would buy less alcohol if prices in supermarkets were “significantly increased”, according to YouGov survey figures published by the Wilson Drinks Report on 23rd December 2009.

“We are yet to be persuaded that minimum pricing would actually work as intended,” said Tim Wilson, author of the report and an ex-director at consultancy group Deloitte.

Have your say!

Are drink prices too cheap? If you are a pub owner, how would it affect your business if there was a minimum pricing policy on alcohol?  Will a minimum price of 50 pence per unit affect your drinking habits? Will the culture of binge drinking in the UK ever be curbed? 

To have your say, visit Maria’s blog and comment:

www.licentiouslaw.co.uk/a-drink-too-far-should-there-be-minimum-pricing-on-alcohol