Minimum Pricing on Alcohol Per Unit

[starrymarkb]

No agreed certainly not the type i buy anyway,but like all government thinking it could just be the thin end of a very long wedge once started into controlling prices higher up the margins,and i do not trust then not to do that one bit sadly.

Lower down the margins any extra money generated should be used to help people in my view indeed as you say if there is any.

I will give you an example iceland heavily regulates alcohol, and in the supermarkets you can only buy lower strength beer,you have to go to an off licence type place to get stronger beer,and here is the rub a freind of mine who went recently said a bottle of vodka was £22 which you can buy in tecos for around £12,so there would be plenty more scope for government interference once the door is open to it in my view.

Isn't Iceland (like Norway) very expensive in general...

 

[martinsh]

One thing I did hear on the radio yesterday was talk about how some brewers are now able to reduce the strength, without affecting the flavour, of many drinks. I would actually be happy to drink weaker alcoholic drinks if they didn't taste awful

Manns Brown Ale - excellent taste but only 2.8% (and 89p in Home and Bargain)

 

[Greenback]

I am fairly concerned about strong bottled beers, as a big fan of all things beer (except commercial lagers) as I fear prices could shoot up. Why should I pay more for a bottle of craft beer? Just target party drinks and leave real ales/wines/craft beers alone.

Provided that you already pay the proposed minimum price per unit, then the measures, if introduced, would have no effect.

I rarely see real ale being sold at cut prices in supermarkets, so my guess is that you are already paying more than the minimum pricing threshold.

The old licensing hours weren't particularly useful though were they.

No!

Even now I can't think of many pubs that open beyond twelve. If people want to carry on partying through the night, it still seems to me that they have to go to the sort of establishments that stayed open to the early hours even before the laws were changed.

Quite. Around here there are one or two pubs that stay open until 0100, but people usually start leaving after 2300 anyway. It is useful to have that facility though. Many people of my age are no longer comfortable in a nightclub, but don't necessarily want to go home at the old closing time. It's nice to have the choice whether to stay in the pub until midnight or later, rather than be forced to leave earlier.

That would entail the NHS turning away people who are intoxicated and don't forget some illness have the same symptoms of being drunk.

This aniseed liqueur I have is 15.4 units so it would be just under £7 instead of the £5.99 I paid for it

It'll hit the people who want to have a party at home and buy a box of beer/cider to share.

As with all law changes, there will be some people who are negatively affected through no fault of their own.

I do support the narrowing of the price differentials between supermarket and pub.

An interesting point. However, people who attend hospital (by one means or another) for treatment when intoxicated do take up time and space for those who attend for treatment whose injuries are not normally a self-inflicted state of being. Hospitals are not too enamoured of their staff being assaulted by those who have imbibed a quantity of alcoholic products, which is said to be the bane of life of NHS staff working in accident and emergency departments.

This is true. And I see minimum alcohol pricing as just one way in which to tackle the culture of drinking in this country. I feel it is far more beneficial to educate and encourage than to let things continue as they are, which could mean even more draconian measures are needed in the future.

Isn't Iceland (like Norway) very expensive in general...

Yes!

 

[Lewisham2221]

Quite how the government thinks this will actually have any effect is beyond me. This Sky News article - http://news.sky.com/story/1017959/alcohol-minimum-pricing-plan-unveiled claims that the increase will cost people between £7 and £118 per year. We're hardly talking increases that are likely to make many, if any, people make a substantial lifestyle choice.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Quite how the government thinks this will actually have any effect is beyond me. This Sky News article - http://news.sky.com/story/1017959/alcohol-minimum-pricing-plan-unveiled claims that the increase will cost people between £7 and £118 per year. We're hardly talking increases that are likely to make many, if any, people make a substantial lifestyle choice.

What you say here rather "pulls the rug out from under the feet" of the drinks industry and their statements that sensible members of the populace will be really hard-hit by these proposals.

I am still wondering why the example of the 50p unit cost adopted in Scotland was not adopted here. Is it that Scotland needed their price to be an even more draconian measure ?

 

[yorksrob]

Quite. Around here there are one or two pubs that stay open until 0100, but people usually start leaving after 2300 anyway. It is useful to have that facility though. Many people of my age are no longer comfortable in a nightclub, but don't necessarily want to go home at the old closing time. It's nice to have the choice whether to stay in the pub until midnight or later, rather than be forced to leave earlier.

Indeed. I often have friends come up from London after work on a Friday and since they get in fairly late, the extra couple of hours are invaluable.

 

[SS4]

Quite how the government thinks this will actually have any effect is beyond me. This Sky News article - http://news.sky.com/story/1017959/alcohol-minimum-pricing-plan-unveiled claims that the increase will cost people between £7 and £118 per year. We're hardly talking increases that are likely to make many, if any, people make a substantial lifestyle choice.

I'd like to live in a world where £118 is not a lot of money. It will have an effect on the pocket of the poorest but since when did they care about the poor? Don't forget alcohol (and fags) always get stung in the budget and I bet you it'll be added before tax so prices will rise more than they should. Then you may have to add extra cost for supermarket profit depending on whether or not there'll be a price war at the new cost.

Currently a 12 pack of strongbow costs £8. Under the new scheme it would cost £11.88 (no doubt rounded to £12) which is a 50% increase.

"The evidence is clear - the availability of cheap alcohol contributes to harmful levels of drinking. It can't be right that it is possible to purchase a can of beer for as little as 20p."

[sup][Citation Needed][/sup]

 

[Richard1960]

Isn't Iceland (like Norway) very expensive in general...

Yes but even taking that into account Iceland still heavily regulates the sale of alcohol.

 

[Clip]

How about we have less intrusion and government interference in our lives and let people do what they want with their lives as they see fit?

Minimum pricing is a pathetic idea which will not solve anything nor the ills of society.

All the blather about nhs costs is a smokescreen too. Unless they are going to start taxing fat unhealthy people too.

Can't everyone just leave our lives alone?

 

[Greenback]

That's a nice thought, but the result wouldn't the ultimate result of that be anarchy?

 

[Drsatan]

Minimum pricing is a pathetic idea which will not solve anything nor the ills of society.

The problem with minimum pricing is that it won't stop kids from buying a 3 litre bottle of Frosty Jack and then drinking it at home or in the park. White cider will become a bit more expensive (as will wine) but then underage drinkers will want to get drunk as quickly as possible, not buy a bottle of Tescos finest sauvignon blanc and then savour the taste!

If Osborne really wanted to tackle problem drinking, he ought to abolish duty on real ales, and abolish the alcohol duty escalator. There was an opinion piece written by Tim Martin (founder of Wetherspoons) in which he said that half the cost of a typical pint goes to the Treasury, and pubs have to pay VAT on food and drink sales, which supermarkets don't. This partially explains why the price of a pint keeps on going up, unless you visit a Wetherspoons.

If responsible drinking in pubs was encouraged (as opposed to visiting a bar and drinking 10 shots of Corkys for a tenner) then late night violence wouldn't be such a problem.

That's a nice thought, but the result wouldn't the ultimate result of that be anarchy?

From watching Jeremy Kyle I believe that some people can't be trusted to manage their own lives

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

White cider will become a bit more expensive (as will wine) but then underage drinkers will want to get drunk as quickly as possible.....From watching Jeremy Kyle I believe that some people can't be trusted to manage their own lives

The reference to the drinking habits you quote for those under-age is indeed a very sad reflection on both society and on the certain sections of quite young people in Britain today who just seem to accept the many and varied habits of their elders as being a normal state of affairs.

 

[Greenback]

The problem with minimum pricing is that it won't stop kids from buying a 3 litre bottle of Frosty Jack and then drinking it at home or in the park. White cider will become a bit more expensive (as will wine) but then underage drinkers will want to get drunk as quickly as possible, not buy a bottle of Tescos finest sauvignon blanc and then savour the taste!

If Osborne really wanted to tackle problem drinking, he ought to abolish duty on real ales, and abolish the alcohol duty escalator. There was an opinion piece written by Tim Martin (founder of Wetherspoons) in which he said that half the cost of a typical pint goes to the Treasury, and pubs have to pay VAT on food and drink sales, which supermarkets don't. This partially explains why the price of a pint keeps on going up, unless you visit a Wetherspoons.

If responsible drinking in pubs was encouraged (as opposed to visiting a bar and drinking 10 shots of Corkys for a tenner) then late night violence wouldn't be such a problem.

Many of the problems encountered in our towns and cities are just as much a result of getting tanked up on stuff bought at the supermarket before going out as anything purchased in the bars. The price differential between the two is such that people are bound to be encouraged to kick start their night out with a few 'liveners' before hitting the bars.

But you are right. I also read Tim Martin's article, and, while I don;t agree with a lot of what he says, I think on this he is quite right.

From watching Jeremy Kyle I believe that some people can't be trusted to manage their own lives

I quite agree!

 

[Chapeltom]

With regards to underage drinkers, I remember when I was like 14-17, which isn't that long ago! I cannot remember that many people I knew going out and getting smashed every Friday/Saturday night. When I was that age, I was happy with a bottle or two of a beer, maybe 5-6 most but I think the underage 'drinking problem' is exaggerated. It was 50% at most for the people I knew.

At 17, I knew a few who could get into clubs and that, and people were starting to turn in hungover to 6th form, but its that blast of freedom when you turn 18 that makes people go and out and get smashed at every given opportunity. Its natural but I still don't think "everyone" does it.

We have underage drinkers in this country and a number of them are a problem, but I think those my sort of age at like 19/20 are probably worse as we can go to pubs/bars/clubs, pay £30+ on a night out and not care. You'd have to put Jagerbombs at £10 a shot to stop some people going out and getting hammered. I've spent £50 on a night out, by just drinking real ales and expensive bottles of quality beer, we were paying £4-£11 a bottle!

 

[RichmondCommu]

They probably do. But they'll move away from beers and that and more onto large bottles of alcopops and probably vodka

Thats what they do anyway as it allows them to get drunk in half the time.

 

[Clip]

That's a nice thought, but the result wouldn't the ultimate result of that be anarchy?

Yes, quite

This was an interesting read

Alcohol-related deaths in Scotland have fallen, but the rate is still one of the highest in western and central Europe, an NHS report has said.

Mortality rates have come down by 25% since 2003, but were still nearly twice as high as in England and Wales, according to the publication.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Was a "health-related" tax ever considered upon the delicacy known as.....

Deep Fried Mars Bars....
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Thats what they do anyway as it allows them to get drunk in half the time.

What a very sad reflection upon the lack of understanding of personal health matters, either by education on this matter at home or at school, that seems to be the case with certain young people in society today.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

I'd like to live in a world where £118 is not a lot of money. It will have an effect on the pocket of the poorest but since when did they care about the poor? Don't forget alcohol (and fags) always get stung in the budget and I bet you it'll be added before tax so prices will rise more than they should. Then you may have to add extra cost for supermarket profit depending on whether or not there'll be a price war at the new cost.

Currently a 12 pack of strongbow costs £8. Under the new scheme it would cost £11.88 (no doubt rounded to £12) which is a 50% increase

Well, the good ship HMS U-Turn has just docked outside the Houses of Parliament with triumphal pronouncements made from the quarter-deck that the current joint Government will now not proceed with the minimum unit price of alcohol in both England and Wales.

 

[SS4]

Well, the good ship HMS U-Turn has just docked outside the Houses of Parliament with triumphal pronouncements made from the quarter-deck that the current joint Government will now not proceed with the minimum unit price of alcohol in both England and Wales.

I am glad to hear it.

 

[Butts]

Well, the good ship HMS U-Turn has just docked outside the Houses of Parliament with triumphal pronouncements made from the quarter-deck that the current joint Government will now not proceed with the minimum unit price of alcohol in both England and Wales.

Or "The Smugglers Charter" - plain packaging on Cigarettes

 

[ralphchadkirk]

I am glad to hear it.

Can't say I am.

 

[Yew]

I am glad to hear it.

Agreed.

 

[bnm]

Are the Scots still going ahead?

If so, my business plan to open a large warehouse on the England side of the border, selling Buckfast and Tennents Super (amongst others) at English prices to visiting Scots may well still be a goer.

 

[Welshman]

In days of yore, folks used to venture north of the border to get married more quickly than was possible in England.

It's a sad reflection on today's society if this migration is now reversed to allow folks to get drunk more quickly.

 

[SS4]

In days of yore, folks used to venture north of the border to get married more quickly than was possible in England.

It's a sad reflection on today's society if this migration is now reversed to allow folks to get drunk more quickly.

That's the free market for you. It's no different from booze cruises to Calais or fags from (Eastern) Europe, especially those countries in the EU.

You're also making a false dichotomy that being able to buy alcohol* cheaply is the same as getting drunk more quickly. I don't doubt some people will do so but I also believe more will use it to stock up for parties/events or to drink responsibly.


* ethanol, not the functional group for the pedants and those who've studied organic chemistry