Minimum Alcohol Pricing

[simon.r]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-20515918

A minimum of 45p / unit (10ml of pure alcohol) is being proposed.

I'm really struggling to see how this will have any impact on those who abuse alcohol.

If my maths is right it will have no impact on pub prices and will increase the cost of a 1/2 pint bottle of Stella from the supermarket from 50p to 64p. So someone who drinks a ridiculous amount (let's say 10 pints in a session) will see a total price increase of £2.80. A bottle of wine will go up from £3.33 (3 for a tenner) to about £4.21. So the kids who 'pre-drink' at home before going out will have to find an extra quid or so. Big deal.

Is that really going to stop anyone?

 

[martint235]

Probably not but the Govt can say that at least they've tried.

I think it's going to be a tough problem to crack and I'm not sure I want to go down the route suggested by one MP yesterday that hospitals charge people if it's felt their illness is self-inflicted.

 

[marinyork]

The problem in selling it is that people like Mark Bellis (who is an academic on the subject) say things like he did this morning that it will only affect 'moderate' drinkers by adding 20 or 30p a week. Unfortunately some of the groups they are trying to target see themselves as 'moderate' drinkers and will probably be paying more than this and get quite angry about it.

The other problem is a goldilocks porridge problem. 40p = too low and not make much difference. 45p = about right. 50p = (a bit) too high

 

[tyred]

Will this affect the price of Christmas cake

 

[numbnuts]

I don't drink

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

It might slow down the rapid decline in pubs by reducing the price difference between drinking indoors and drinking in pubs. I'd guess that the binge drinking will continue but in cheap ''meet up pubs'' before customers set off for sexier venues. Cross-channel trips will receive a boost - Calais always feels like it needs cheering up. Corner shop offies will suffer.

I'm going to miss those cheap beers and ciders. I can still get 6 Stellas for £5 and cooking cider at around £1 a litre.

 

[spire]

Higher prices will deter some students from drinking to excess (I hope) and getting into bad habits. When I was at Uni (long time ago!), money was certainly a key factor that restrained our drinking.

 

[Andrew_Culture]

High prices work real well with Heroin don't they

My uncle (now deceased) would literally crawl to the off-licence to buy frosty jack's (or whatever) and I very much doubt when he got there that he would shake his head at the high price and crawl back home.

I think any policy like this clearly doesn't understand addiction.

 

[craven2354]

Theirs a pub in my local town that charges 99p for a bottle of carlsberg and £1.24 for a pint of strongbow

 

[spire]

It might slow down the rapid decline in pubs by reducing the price difference between drinking indoors and drinking in pubs.

Which is a very good thing. It's sad that so many pubs are closing because they can't compete with supermarkets, and bad that people get plastered at home when a good landlord might be a steadying influence.

 

[martint235]

Are there still cheap pubs? Wetherspoons in Welling now sells Heineken and Stella at £3.30 a pint which is exactly the same (for Stella) as the Greene King owned Nags Head down the road. The Wetherspoons put all their prices up by 10% not long ago taking them into "normal" territory.

I can't comment on the price of cr***y drinks like Fosters as I would rather drink the drip trays than touch that stuff.

 

[martint235]

And thinking about it, hands up who'll be surprised if the breweries put up the price of a pint in the pub? Despite the fact it probably falls outside the remit of minimum pricing, I'm fairly sure it will go up.

I can remember the days when breweries used to put up prices the week before a Budget and then again the week after, blaming the chancellor for both.

Not that I think breweries are money grabbing b******ds or anything that then plead poverty.

 

[Monsieur Remings]

Higher prices will deter some students from drinking to excess (I hope) and getting into bad habits. When I was at Uni (long time ago!), money was certainly a key factor that restrained our drinking.

Look at that pig with wings!

 

[simon.r]

Higher prices will deter some students from drinking to excess (I hope) and getting into bad habits. When I was at Uni (long time ago!), money was certainly a key factor that restrained our drinking.

I can't see it. Even a heavy night will only mean £2 or £3 extra (see OP for the maths) - not a significant sum to most students I'd suggest.

 

[simon.r]

It might slow down the rapid decline in pubs by reducing the price difference between drinking indoors and drinking in pubs. I'd guess that the binge drinking will continue but in cheap ''meet up pubs'' before customers set off for sexier venues.

Again, I can't see it. Current price of a pint of Stella in a supermarket = £1.00. Proposed minimum price for a pint of Stella in a supermarket = £1.28. Minimum price in a pub = £3+ ?

The more I think about this the more I think it's just an excuse to increase tax revenue, with the burden being borne mainly by those who can least afford it. As @Rockymountain says, it won't affect people who buy £100 bottles of wine (or even those who buy £5 bottles of wine)!