jamie goode's wine blog: Minimum pricing of alcohol

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Minimum pricing of alcohol

Lots of discussion about minimum pricing of alcohol at the moment. It's prompted by the move in Scotland to introduce a range of measures to combat alcohol abuse (see below, from an email I received today).

Would minimum pricing be bad for wine? It might help break the current unsustainable situation where producers and brand owners are squeezed ever harder by supermarkets who want to give their customers ever cheaper wine. It would be great to see people who make wine actually make some money from it.

But I worry that this is the thin end of the prohibition wedge. I worry that such measures could actually reduce the number of people drinking wine. Unexpected consequences of such a move could end up hurting the wine industry, rather than helping it.

CALL FOR EVIDENCE ON ALCOHOL BILL LAUNCHED  Views on minimum pricing, off-sales discounts and raising the alcohol sales age to 21, have all been called for by the Health and Sport Committee today. A call for evidence on the Alcohol etc. (Scotland) Bill was launched by the committee after the Bill was introduced to the Parliament by the Scottish Government yesterday. Committee Convener, Christine Grahame MSP said: “This Bill aims to address the serious public health issues surrounding alcohol consumption in Scotland. We hope all organisations and individuals with an interest in this subject from health to licensing sectors will submit their views by 20 January 2010 and allow us to consider this Bill thoroughly.” Call for written evidence The committee welcomes evidence from individuals as well as from organisations and professional bodies and intends that evidence received will inform its consideration of the Bill at Stage 1.  The committee invites views on all aspects of the Bill. Responses should address all or any of the following points in turn - * The advantages and disadvantages of establishing a minimum alcohol sales price based on a unit of alcohol;  * The level at which such a proposed minimum price should be set and the justification for that level;  * The rationale behind the use of minimum pricing as an effective tool to address all types of problem drinking;   * Possible alternatives to the introduction of a minimum alcohol sales price as an effective means of addressing the public health issues surrounding levels of alcohol consumption in Scotland;  * The advantages and disadvantages of introducing a social responsibility levy on pubs and clubs in Scotland;  * The justification for empowering licensing boards to raise the legal alcohol purchase age in their area to 21;  * The role of promotional offers and promotional material in encouraging people to purchase more alcohol than they intended; and  * Any other aspects of the Bill. The Alcohol etc. (Scotland) Bill  The main purposes of the Bill are to––  * Introduce a minimum sales price for a unit of alcohol (sections 1 & 2 of the Bill). * Introduce a restriction for off-sales on supply of alcoholic drinks free of charge or at a reduced price (section 3). * Make provision in law with respect to the sale of alcohol to under 21s (section 8). * Restrict the location of drinks promotions in off-sales premises (section 4). * Introduce a requirement for licence holders to operate an age verification policy (section 5).  * Make provision in law for a social responsibility levy on licence holders (sections 10 & 11).

10 Comments:

At 11:58 AM, Anonymous Guy S said...

Unfortunately there's nothing to say that the retailers won't take all the extra margin for the minimum price for themselves leaving nothing extra for the producers.

 
At 1:55 PM, Blogger Vinogirl said...

Raising the drinking age to 21, bad idea...consider here in the US an entire nation of adults who, for 3 years after turning 18, continue to be treated like children.

 
At 4:29 PM, Anonymous Fabius said...

It's difficult to know which is the cause and which is the effect, ie does the authoritarian approach (high price, high taxes, restrictive licensing, age-limits, etc) actually have any effect, let alone a 'good' effect? Would it not be more effective to invest in 'education' on matters related to alcohol, health, etc. Note the different approaches taken by 'strict' countries (eg in scandinavia) and 'relaxed' countries (eg southern Europe).

 
At 4:29 PM, Anonymous Fabius said...

It's difficult to know which is the cause and which is the effect, ie does the authoritarian approach (high price, high taxes, restrictive licensing, age-limits, etc) actually have any effect, let alone a 'good' effect? Would it not be more effective to invest in 'education' on matters related to alcohol, health, etc. Note the different approaches taken by 'strict' countries (eg in scandinavia) and 'relaxed' countries (eg southern Europe).

 
At 7:20 PM, Blogger Gianpaolo Paglia said...

@Guy S. You can bet they are going to keep the extra margin, no doubts about it

 
At 8:55 PM, Anonymous Alex Lake said...

I don't think this is the right way to go. But with an essentially lazy police force, it's hard to know what to do.

Given that the "something must be done" brigade are pretty much irresistable to the powers that be, what can we think of that might be less damaging?

 
At 12:02 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

@Alex Lake: "essentially lazy police force" - that comment is unfair. How exactly are they lazy? More to the point, it is not the job of the police to monitor our alcohol intake. They do have to deal with the consequences of those who over-indulge however.
Getting back on topic, it's interesting to note that one of the most "abused" drinks by those who this legislation would affect to protect remains untouched. Buckfast would not rise in price by a penny.

 
At 8:51 AM, Anonymous Alex Lake said...

The lazy police force comment is about police who don't do much to exercise laws already at their disposal to deal with underage drinking in the street and general drunk and disorderly behaviour. I believe it's the fact that these things going unchecked that drives the desire for this type of legislation.

 
At 11:55 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

@Alex Lake; I think you'll find that the laws that already exist are utilised - consficating alcohol from minors, moving groups on etc. As it is, the laws are fairly ineffective but that is not the fault of the police as they are only one link in the enforcement process. I've heard police constables, mostly of a certain age, fondly reminisce on "drunk & disorderly" charge and it's apparent demise in the mid 90s. This was due to the unwillingness of prosecutors to allow such cases to proceed to court. The police can only have an effect where the legislation and the prosecution do not hamstring them. Much of what now passes as "normal" behaviour for revellers would have been enough to get you the jail in 15 years ago. There simply aren't enough cells or cops to deal with the situation and mores that have come to pass.

 
At 7:20 AM, Anonymous Alex Lake said...

Well, that's plausible. I don't think I'd bother exercising laws if there was no backup...

But presumably it's not the law that's changed?

 

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