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drinkanddrugsnews
| December 2011
www.drinkanddrugsnews.com
News focus |
Analysis
Back in late 2009, the Scottish Government
called the publication of its Alcohol Bill – one of
the key provisions of which was the introduction
of a minimum price per unit of alcohol – a ‘once
in a lifetime chance’ to get to grips with the
country’s estimated £3.56bn alcohol problem
(
DDN
, 30 November 2009, page 4).
It didn’t quite work out that way, however. There
was predictable hostility from much of the drinks
industry, but it was insufficient parliamentary
support – despite the ruling Scottish National Party
(SNP) offering to include a ‘sunset clause’ to review
its effects after six years (
DDN
, 27 September 2010,
page 4) – that led to the proposal being dropped.
Now, the Scottish Government is having a
second attempt, with the publication of the Alcohol
(Minimum Pricing) Bill (
DDN
, November, page 4) and
this time many believe the SNP has enough support
to get the bill passed. The party enjoyed a majority
win in the May 2011 election and while Conservative,
Labour and Liberal Democrat SMPs previously voted
against the proposal, the Scottish Lib Dems appear
to have changed direction – there was wide support
for a motion supporting minimum pricing at their
party conference and leader Willie Rennie SMP has
pledged to work constructively with ministers to
make the legislation ‘the most effective it can be’.
Not only that, but the usual suspects supporting
the new bill – the BMA, the Royal Colleges, the
Church of Scotland – have some unusual company in
the shape of the Scottish Licensed Trade Association
and drinks companies including Molson Coors,
Tennents and Greene King. ‘We have consistently
argued that the solution must be proportionate to the
problem and should not penalise the majority of
responsible drinkers,’ says Greene King chief
executive Rooney Anand. ‘That is why we believe a
minimum price for alcohol would go to the very heart
of the problem.’ The Welsh Government and Northern
Ireland Executive have also voiced their support.
It’s safe to say, however, that the majority of the
industry remains steadfastly opposed, with the
Scotch Whisky Association issuing a statement
saying that the bill is in violation of EU and
international trade laws, and ‘probably illegal’ – a
view recently echoed by UK public health minister
Anne Milton. The Law Society of Scotland, which is in
the process of analysing the proposals, has warned
that the final say could ultimately lie with the
European Court of Justice, as compatibility with EU
duty directives needs to be considered as well as the
free movement of goods as set out in EU treaties.
Convener of the society's competition law
committee, James McLean, however, points out that
the European Court has not had
the opportunity to review the
proposals in relation to
commissioned academic research
until now, and there’s ample
research for them to look at. In
addition to previous studies, the
University of Sheffield will re-run
its minimum pricing modelling –
which will help decide the new
minimum price – and Edinburgh’s
Queen Margaret University has
been awarded a research grant to
investigate what effect a minimum
price would have on the
consumption levels of Scotland’s
heaviest drinkers, including
whether they would try to source
alcohol from outside Scotland –
as some in the industry claim – or,
more worryingly, turn to ‘illicit or
substitute alcohols or other
intoxicants’.
The Scottish Government is
confident that it can overcome any
legal obstacles, however. ‘We fully
believe that the Minimum Pricing
Bill is capable of complying with
European law’, a spokesperson
tells
DDN
, adding that the
government expects it to have
‘completed its journey through
Parliament by next summer’ but
refusing to be drawn on whether the minimum price is
likely to be higher, lower or the same as the 45p
decided on last time around, stating only that it will
‘be decided during the bill process’.
The government is also keen to stress that
minimum pricing is not the only string to its bow.
‘We have invested a record £155m in tackling
alcohol misuse since 2008, the bulk of which –
£134m – has been invested in local prevention,
treatment and support services,’ says health
secretary Nicola Sturgeon. However, the evidence
shows that affordability is one of the drivers of
increased consumption, she states. ‘In a society
where a man’s weekly alcohol limit can be bought
for about £4 and a teenager can consume enough
alcohol to kill themselves for under £5, tackling
price is nothing short of essential.’
A key factor, as with so much public health
policy north and south of the border, may well be
how far the media decides to get behind the idea.
Much of the English media seemed to willfully
misunderstand and misrepresent the minimum
pricing proposals put forward by chief medical
officer Liam Donaldson (
DDN
, 23 March 2009, page
5) and rejected by the Labour government, and
there was certainly some hostility in parts of the
Scottish press last time around.
The government spokesperson offers no
comment on whether they think things might be
different this time, although opinion columns since
the new bill was announced seem fairly even-
handed so far. One Scottish
Sun
columnist,
however, writes that, while he supports the previous
ban on irresponsible promotions, ‘blanket penalising
with higher prices for all is most certainly NOT the
answer and I really hope the SNP may still see
sense’, adding that the government needs to look
instead at the root causes of the country’s
relationship with alcohol.
‘The Scottish Government needs to find out
why,’ he says, ‘the end of the week signals a time to
drink ourselves into oblivion.’
IF THE PRICE IS RIGHT?
The Scottish Government is renewing its effort to introduce minimum pricing to
tackle the country’s costly alcohol problem. Could it be successful this time
around, asks
DDN
‘The Scottish Government
needs to find out why the end
of the week signals a time to
drink ourselves into oblivion.’