Alcohol understanding for all
Minimum unit pricing for alcohol will come into force on May 1st 2018.
Health Secretary Shona Robison today updated members of the Scottish parliament on the plans and confirmed a consultation on the preferred minimum unit price of 50p will be published next week.
“I anticipate setting the minimum unit price at 50 pence per unit. We now want to hear from retailers, representative bodies and Licensing Standards Officers about the practicalities of implementation.”
Draft National Alcohol Strategy 2018-2026, key proposals:
Ireland’s health department says it has met all its obligations under World Trade Organisation rules over the health labelling requirements of its alcohol bill.
The US government’s trade agency recently said it had asked Ireland to notify the World Trade Organisation about its health labelling plans so as to comply with the organisation’s Technical Barriers to Trade Agreement.
“We can confirm that all obligations under WTO in relation to the Public Health (Alcohol) Bill have been met by the Department of Health,” the department told Alcohol Companion.
“Ireland intends to notify WTO Members of all amendments made to the Bill at the earliest opportunity, ie once all amendments have been made.” ■
The leaders of a traditional pub campaign group are set to discuss a call for it to support the “urgent introduction” of minimum alcohol pricing in England later this month.
The move comes in response to a motion passed at the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) annual conference in Dundee earlier this month, which saw the arrival of a new chairman Nik Antona.
Alcohol has retailed for more than 50p ($0.66) per 10ml UK unit in Scotland since May last year. Supporters hope it will curtail the drinking of very heavy drinkers who gravitate towards cheap sources of alcohol. In England the price per unit starts at 16p.
The price of beer sold in pubs is unaffected by minimum pricing, typically being more than three times the 50p minimum price. Supporters within CAMRA argue minimum pricing may help counter the decline of British pubs by narrowing the price gap with supermarkets.
Others do not see it this way, saying on social media the pro-minimum price motion panders to “anti-alcohol” forces, threatening to cancel their CAMRA memberships. Some, however, wonder if an appreciation of untainted liberal economics is a necessary part of appreciating traditional beer.
The tension is not new. CAMRA’s former chairman Colin Valentine, who stood down last year, is said to have spoken in support of the minimum price motion. Yet, under Valentine’s chairmanship, CAMRA also echoed alcohol industry opposition to it.
Help may be at hand. An initial evaluation of the short-term economic impact of minimum pricing in Scotland is due later this year. And some insight into its effectiveness in achieving its goal of reducing harmful drinking is expected next year. ■
A 9p/unit tax would ensure that alcohol duty is a tax on alcohol, not an arbitrary tax on fluids. EU regulation currently prohibits this system of alcohol taxation. Outside of the EU, Britain will no longer be constrained—Institute of Economic Affairs
Source: iea.org.uk/publications/a-rational-approach-to-alcohol-taxation/
Note: The simplicity of the system is attractive, as is the idea of taxing the potentially harmful element of alcoholic drinks alone. It is interesting, however, to imagine how it might look in the real world. Strong white cider, widely condemned for fueling abuse because it is so cheap, is curently taxed at 7.3p a unit. So increasing the tax to 9p a unit might be expected to raise its price by 1.7p for each unit. This would mean a 3 litre bottle of 7.5% cider, which contains 22.5 units, might go up from £3.99 to £4.37. Would this be enough to deter cash-strapped drinkers? It seems unlikely. An admirably fair and rational tax may be ineffective in curbing inherently irrational patterns of consumption. ■
There is a case study on preventing early deaths from alcohol us in the Russian Federation on page 44 and global alcohol use statistics on page 62 (pictured). The accuracy and comparability of alcohol statistics is often open to question.