As part of their Coalition agreement the government unveiled plans to set a minimum price for alcohol in England and Wales. An article published on this blog explained the case against the “Sin Tax” being introduced at the time, however the issue has reared its head once again in Scotland.
The SNP majority have once again proposed an archaic law which would see a minimum price set for alcohol, as a means to reduce consumption of alcohol in the country. During the last session of Parliament a similar law was proposed by the SNP, whilst they were in a minority, but failed to become law. Now that the SNP have achieved a majority they will once more try and resurrect this draconian law.
It is rather primitive to think that by marginally increasing the price of cheap alcohol a large number of people will all of a sudden change their behaviour and drink responsibly. Time and time again reports have shown that this approach, at the very best, is an unclear and costly experiment. It is blatantly evident that the type of people who will bear the brunt of these price hikes will be the poorest in society.
It is important to note that an NHS report released last week said Scots are drinking 23% more than those in the rest of Britain. There is obviously a major problem, which is perhaps more prominent in Scotland, of reckless drinking that affects not just the drinker but other innocent parties. I am not arguing that there is not a drinking problem in Scotland to be addressed, but that minimum pricing will have little to no effect on the root causes of the issue.
Is it really the governments place to financially penalise the poor for having a couple of drinks after a hard weeks work to relax? Bear in mind that this is only the first step in setting minimum prices on alcohol. How long will it take for the minimum price to increase? Months? Years? Let’s not wait to find out. The benefits of minimum alcohol prices simply do not seem to be outweighed by the problems it causes.
By Finbarr Toesland
Join the Mailing List
