Minimum pricing on Alcohol

[Biker1959]

So we all suffer because a minority have problems with alcohol. Even worse, it is Bol***ks as it wont stop problem drinkers without education and a cultural change. Look at Spain, the booze is cheaper than water in the supermarkets but they don't have the problems we see in the uk.

I can't see your average idiot saying "Oh dear, my cheap cider is no longer cheap so I'll stop boozing..." can you? More likely to turn to thieving it.

 

[AronSearle]

Ho ho ho, you think it's about stopping binge drinking.

Oh you!

It's just another excuse for the puritans to further restrict naughty goods they don't like.

 

[big-all]

another tax on the poor
wont effect sherry good wine or average priced spirits 1L=£16 70cl=£11.20
white cider 7.5% £3 1L £6 2L

4% laager or beer £1.60 L or 80p per 500ml can

ok update not 40p but 45p minimum so 45-50p a unit so assuming 50p a unit
spirits 1L=£20.87 ---70cl £14
white cider 7.5% 1L £3.75 2L £7.50
4% beer or laager £1.95L or 99p per 500ml

 

[joinerjohn]

The government should tackle alcohol abuse at it's source. They are scaremongering when they mention "Binge Drinking" The media show us videos and pictures of young, inebriated men and women in town centres, on a Friday/Saturday night, fighting, being sick, urinating in doorways, staggering into the road etc.
Existing laws are there. All the government need do is apply these laws vigorously. Lock them up over the weekend. Haul them in front of the magistrates court on Monday morning. Give them hefty fines and community service, a 3 month curfew from 7pm on a Friday evening until 7am on Monday morning. Instead of a measly £60 fine.
Anyone of these people who use the NHS at weekends to fix up their self inflicted injuries, should be presented with a bill for treatment, much the same way that victims of RTA's receive a bill for emergency services and treatment.
Keep doing this and hit em hard in their pockets when they cause trouble/need their stomach pumped and eventually they'll learn.

Anyway it's not about binge drinking,(look up the definition of binge drinking and I think you'll find that most of us social drinkers would fall into the category, even though we don't fight/urinate in shop doorways/spew up/stagger into the road, etc, etc),,, rather it's just another tax, thinly disguised as social engineering.

 

[securespark]

The NHS spends an absolute fortune on treating drunk patients.

Worse, they get all sorts of verbal and physical abuse while doing so.

The NHS also spends a fortune on treating the effects of smoking and poor diet. And poor diet will have a lasting legacy because, as a nation, we are getting heavier.

You could argue that there should be enough of a premium added to the price of products like alcohol, tobacco and high salt/fat/sugar/low fibre foods to cover the cost of any treatment required as a result of using those products.

But then where do you draw the line?

Do you add a hefty tax onto hand and power tools to cover NHS treatment after accidents with those tools?

Perhaps an extra tax on house purchase or rent to cover the NHS's costs after a fall down the stairs?

All of these issues are a burden on the NHS, in varying degrees.

But can they be cured by slapping taxes on the products causing the problems?

As an example, let's look at tobacco: when I started smoking, I could buy 10 B&H for literally pennies.

Now, I see they're over £4.

As an aside, $4 would get you 20 cigs in the US.

Has the number of smokers decreased in that time and if so, how many have given up because of the cost? We are much more savvy about health issues these days.

To get an accurate answer, you would have to conduct a detailed analysis of all the data surrounding alcohol, tobacco and food consumption over the years.

 

[ellal]

This tax would just bring back the booze cruise, selling out of the back of a van, and more cases of dodgy/dangerous alcohol being consumed.

But like most of what Camoron spouts he hasn't thought it through...It's most likely that this will be ruled illegal by the EU!

 

[big-all]

the drinks lobby is one off the biggest if its not in there favor it wont happen

 

[joinerjohn]

The NHS spends an absolute fortune on treating drunk patients.

.

So,,, why not charge them for their treatment? If you are involved in a road traffic accident and need hospital treatment, you'll get a bill from the ambulance service and a bill from the hospital for treatment.

What's the difference between an RTA victim and a drunk on a Saturday night? The RTA wasn't self inflicted. (and the drunk didn't get a huge bill )

 

[big-all]

not forgetting climbing running abseiling skiing and any other legal activity that puts you in hospital

 

[NickS601]

This country has a massive problem with alcohol abuse and I believe there are a number of reasons for it. the decline of the traditional pub where "young" drinkers could be "taught" to drink responsibly, cancellation of the licensing hours and 24 hour opening, lack of education into the effects of alcohol etc etc etc.
In general if your best mate said he was off out Friday night to overdose on Heroin we would all stop him. Overdose on alcohol though and it's not only considered normal or funny but a lot of us would purchase him some of his "mind altering substance of choice" if that choice is alcohol.
As a young man I served in the RN so experienced first hand the effects of alcohol abuse including alcohol poisoning and a fatty liver before the age of 22. I am not tea total but TBH alcohol holds little interest for me.
Taxation isn't the but some of the solutions already mentioned I believe would have some inroads into the problem.

1) Improve and increase alcohol education from aged 12

2) Bring back some licensing laws

3) Bring back the "drunk tank" where those who are so inebriated as to be a danger to themselves or other can sober up and spend a couple of days before being charged in front of a magistrate. Initially make this a civil not a criminal offence such as speeding or parking. Fines + points too many points and it becomes a criminal offence.

4) Let the NHS charge for treatment received due to alcohol abuse

In a couple of generations we then might, just might have the cafe culture with alcohol that was aspired too.

 

[AronSearle]

This country has a massive problem with alcohol abuse

That will be why consumption has fallen year on year since 2000.

4) Let the NHS charge for treatment received due to alcohol abuse

It already does, It's called alcahol duty.

 

[joinerjohn]

not forgetting climbing running abseiling skiing and any other legal activity that puts you in hospital

Come on BA, alcohol abuse is self inflicted, (unlike a fall or trip when running , skiing etc) These young un's go out with the sole purpose of getting wrecked and don't think/care about the consequences of their actions.
Trips /Falls etc are accidents. People don't drink themselves to the point of oblivion accidentally. That's the difference.

 

[AronSearle]

These young un's go out with the sole purpose of getting wrecked and don't think/care about the consequences of their actions.

You should write for the daily fail.

 

[big-all]

not forgetting climbing running abseiling skiing and any other legal activity that puts you in hospital

Come on BA, alcohol abuse is self inflicted, (unlike a fall or trip when running , skiing etc) These young un's go out with the sole purpose of getting wrecked and don't think/care about the consequences of their actions.
Trips /Falls etc are accidents. People don't drink themselves to the point of oblivion accidentally. That's the difference.

my comments where more aimed at people being sensible within an activity
if people are brain dead like we have all been when younger most learn quickly and moderate to a sensible level before killing or injuring them selves others as said need far more guidance and help

 

[Whitespirit66]

This country has a massive problem with alcohol abuse and I believe there are a number of reasons for it. the decline of the traditional pub where "young" drinkers could be "taught" to drink responsibly,

Yes, not just the culture of the people, but the culture of the drinking environment. Just come back from Czech Republic (Prague), where beer is cheaper than water. Some places, you can get a pint (500ml) for just over 50p. The Czechs don't go in for vertical drinking. They sit at tables and have table service. This means that there is always someone responsible, circulating and keeping an eye on things.

Young and old use the same pubs, and having older, more responsible customers probably helps. They drink lots of beer, but you rarely see trouble in pubs or anywhere else for that matter. People just go to pubs to drink, smoke and talk. No blaring music or power-drinking. No sickly- sweet, super-strength shots at a fiver a dozen.

So, with beer at pennies for a pint, and plenty being consumed - it has nothing to do with cost. Down to the mentality of the Czechs, peer pressure to act like a grown up and a civilised drinking environment.