Minimum Price For Alcohol

[TDYER63]

Supreme Court backs minimum pricing. 

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/uk-scotland-41981909

[jailender]

Better get down to B&M and stock up with Frosty Jack before the price goes up!!

[Toepoke]

29 minutes ago, TDYER63 said:

Supreme Court backs minimum pricing. 

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/uk-scotland-41981909

 Good decision IMO

[sbcmfc]

38 minutes ago, jailender said:

Better get down to B&M and stock up with Frosty Jack before the price goes up!!

Can just go a Booze cruise to Carlisle.

[TDYER63]

2 minutes ago, sbcmfc said:

Can just go a Booze cruise to Carlisle.

Better be quick ! The English, Welsh and Irish governments are ready to jump on the band ‘wagon’ on the outcome of this decision. 

[sbcmfc]

To go off on a slight Tangent, I was having a conversation the other day about duty free, I find that the thought of trailing 2 litres of vodka halfway round the world to save a fiver isn’t particularly appealing.

So definitely won’t be making a 3 hour round trip and spending £25 on fuel to save £2.50 on a case of lager.

[TDYER63]

6 minutes ago, sbcmfc said:

To go off on a slight Tangent, I was having a conversation the other day about duty free, I find that the thought of trailing 2 litres of vodka halfway round the world to save a fiver isn’t particularly appealing.

So definitely won’t be making a 3 hour round trip and spending £25 on fuel to save £2.50 on a case of lager.

Me neither,  especially when it has been wrapped in my dirty washing to prevent it smashing in the case.

[Mindimoo]

I think this is a great move.  It said it would cost moderate drinkers approximately £2.50 per year.

[Larky Masher]

2 hours ago, TDYER63 said:

Better be quick ! The English, Welsh and Irish governments are ready to jump on the band ‘wagon’ on the outcome of this decision. 

Why would they want to jump on the bandwagon?

[Flure]

43 minutes ago, Larky Masher said:

Why would they want to jump on the bandwagon?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-41682666

https://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2015/02/ireland-agrees-minimum-alcohol-pricing/

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-26040550

Edited November 15, 2017 by Flure

[Larky Masher]

4 minutes ago, Flure said:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-41682666

https://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2015/02/ireland-agrees-minimum-alcohol-pricing/

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-26040550

So we've jumped on their bandwagon?

[Flure]

Just now, Larky Masher said:

So we've jumped on their bandwagon?

Aye, OK. If you like.

[Larky Masher]

4 minutes ago, Flure said:

Aye, OK. If you like.

I'm not trying to be smart. The intent of legislation is laudable, the financial impact on most of the population will be minimal but it is a regressive measure which will impact the poorest most and it's built on an assumption that the demand for alcohol is elastic which for the problem group may not be the case (as the data on smoking suggests).

[TDYER63]

9 minutes ago, Larky Masher said:

So we've jumped on their bandwagon?

Thats not how I read it but stand to be corrected by someone with more knowledge, I am not trying to be smart either.

 Scotland passed it in 2012 and has been caught up in legal action for 5 years. Wales and Ireland are currently under active consideration and it seems it is likely it will be getting reviewed in England again after todays ruling. 

[Bristolhibby]

Does anybody actually stop drinking because it’s a few pence more for a pint?

This smacks of a tax increase. 

As has been said, the people who drink the most and can’t afford it, and won’t stop will be hit.

J

[aaid]

27 minutes ago, Bristolhibby said:

Does anybody actually stop drinking because it’s a few pence more for a pint?

This smacks of a tax increase. 

As has been said, the people who drink the most and can’t afford it, and won’t stop will be hit.

J

It's not a tax increase the retailers keep the additional profits, presumably the manufacturers and distributors will also be looking for their cut as well.   The Scottish government couldn't put a tax on alcohol even if they wanted to as that's a reserved matter.  Whether the government looks to recoup that in some other way is another matter but not part of this act.

This isn't a silver bullet, I don't think anyone is suggesting that it alone is going to solve all of Scotland's alcohol problems.  That doesn't mean that it shouldn't be tried though. 

I also don't think it's directed at alcoholics - it's clear that they need special therapy and assistance - but more people who drink more than is good for their long term health and specifically amongst the young.  There's quite a bit of evidence that policies like this can have a positive impact on people's choices, it's not just about the cost but there are other more subtle behavioural nudges in play.

[Larky Masher]

12 minutes ago, aaid said:

It's not a tax increase the retailers keep the additional profits, presumably the manufacturers and distributors will also be looking for their cut as well.   The Scottish government couldn't put a tax on alcohol even if they wanted to as that's a reserved matter.  Whether the government looks to recoup that in some other way is another matter but not part of this act.

This isn't a silver bullet, I don't think anyone is suggesting that it alone is going to solve all of Scotland's alcohol problems.  That doesn't mean that it shouldn't be tried though. 

I also don't think it's directed at alcoholics - it's clear that they need special therapy and assistance - but more people who drink more than is good for their long term health and specifically amongst the young.  There's quite a bit of evidence that policies like this can have a positive impact on people's choices, it's not just about the cost but there are other more subtle behavioural nudges in play.

There's evidence that policies like this can have an impact on some groups but not all groups (and based on smoking the target group for this initiative will be most resistant) and the Sheffield Alcohol Policy Model that the Scottish government used is as the name suggests a model it isn't an actual study.

[jailender]

I think the policy is more aimed at the younger, not yet problem drinkers, by trying to reduce their access to the cheap ciders etc that are currently available. I don't think  that people who are alcohol dependent now  will necessarily reduce their consumption, and in fact this measure could lead to hardship to some, who will spend more to feed their needs. Overall a good idea, if handled correctly.

[Bristolhibby]

Equally, social drinkers like myself aren’t going to drink less. I’ll just spend more on a night out/in. Good for pubs, clubs, supermarkets and restaurants.

Not good for my wallet. Net effect on my drinking = 0.

J

[Larky Masher]

16 minutes ago, Bristolhibby said:

Equally, social drinkers like myself aren’t going to drink less. I’ll just spend more on a night out/in. Good for pubs, clubs, supermarkets and restaurants.

Not good for my wallet. Net effect on my drinking = 0.

J

It shouldn't impact pub prices they're already well above the minimum price level.

[Bristolhibby]

1 hour ago, Larky Masher said:

It shouldn't impact pub prices they're already well above the minimum price level.

Fair dos. Listening on the radio this evening, they were saying a £4 bottle of cider would change to an £11 bottle.

Thats significant. Is that true?

J

[Parklife]

16 minutes ago, Bristolhibby said:

Fair dos. Listening on the radio this evening, they were saying a £4 bottle of cider would change to an £11 bottle.

Thats significant. Is that true?

J

They must be referring to 7.5% white cider, which you can currently buy a 3 litre bottle of for about £4. 

Theyre not referring to a bottle of magners, a 500ml bottle of which would have a minimum price of around £1.20  

Edited November 15, 2017 by Parklife

[aaid]

9 minutes ago, Bristolhibby said:

Fair dos. Listening on the radio this evening, they were saying a £4 bottle of cider would change to an £11 bottle.

Thats significant. Is that true?

J

Yes but that's for a three litre bottle of super strength cider that has 22 units of alcohol.  A standard 0.7 litre bottle of Vodka has 26 units for comparison. 

[Mee]

Stupid tax which will only hit the poor. Middle class folk in general won't be drinking bottles of wine that cost less than 4.50 or cheap cider so will be unaffected when going to the supermarket and getting 4 bottles of wine with their shopping.

They should control sales through restricting stores or hours or introduce a tax that hits all alcohol, cheap to expensive.

People will be selling petrol and chemicals as cheap "vodka" same thing which happens in Russia and it will be all the politicians fault.

Reducing alcohol consumption is a nice idea, this is a ridiculous implementation. 

[sbcmfc]

5 hours ago, Bristolhibby said:

Fair dos. Listening on the radio this evening, they were saying a £4 bottle of cider would change to an £11 bottle.

Thats significant. Is that true?

J

I remember seeing a mate drink one of those 2-3 litre bottles in about an hour when we were teenagers, it didn’t end well.

That wouldn’t have happened if it had been £11 a bottle.

Silly anecdote, but I could see it having a positive impact on youngsters drinking habits.