Minimum alcohol price planned for England and Wales

lollywood —

The government is proposing a minimum price of 40p per unit of alcohol in England and Wales in an effort to "turn the tide" against binge drinking.

It believes this could transform the behaviour of those who cause the most problems for hospitals and police

The industry said a minimum price was misguided and would hit consumers hard

Under the minimum price proposal, such as at the suggested 40p level, it would act as a floor and retailers would not be allowed to offer alcohol cheaper than that.

  • A £2.99 bottle of red wine, containing 9.4 units of alcohol, would be priced up to £3.76
  • Cheap, strong lager at 75p a can, with three units per can, would become at least £1.20
  • Bulk-bought strong cider, costing 87p a can and containing four units, would almost double to at least £1.60
  • Cheap supermarket whisky at £16.10, with 40 units of alcohol, would probably be unchanged in price

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-17482035

Forum

The Seeker — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 - 11:52

Get rid of alcohol

It causes a lot of problems crime, anti social behaviour, violence and disorder

As much as I agree with this its never going to happen as we do live in the west and drinking alcohol is a something which has been part of british/ english culture for centuries. Part of it is to do with history as people used to only drink beer as it was cleaner than water i.e the water would be so dirty it would give you cholera and other infections whereas beer would be less likely to do that. Furthermore the government is never going to completely ban alcohol as it brings in so much money for businesses and taxes in the same way cigarettes do. If alcohol was banned lots of different industries would suffer as they depend on the sale of alcohol to keep them afloat such as off licences and newsagents, supermarkets would also suffer not to mention sports clubs and teams - many football club's source of revenue is drinks sales during half time and before and after the game. As much as I agree with the fact that alcohol causes so much anti social behaviour which in turn costs lot of money its unrealistic to expect the government to completely ban it the best thing to hope and argue for is that alcohol becomes like cigarettes.

lollywood — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 - 18:20

[quote=The Seeker]
As much as I agree with this its never going to happen as we do live in the west and drinking alcohol is a something which has been part of british/ english culture for centuries.
[/quote]

It can happen just say no more alcohol is going to be produced do what you like because it's the cause of many problems not to forget it puts a massive strain on the NHS something the NHS can't afford anymore

Make a new rule that any drunk person that cause damage has to fix and pay full amount for it maybe then people would think twice before getting drunk

[quote=The Seeker]
Part of it is to do with history as people used to only drink beer as it was cleaner than water i.e the water would be so dirty it would give you cholera and other infections whereas beer would be less likely to do that.
[/quote]

That was then things have moved on people use to die of a simple cold but not anymore

[quote=The Seeker]
Furthermore the government is never going to completely ban alcohol as it brings in so much money for businesses and taxes in the same way cigarettes do.
[/quote]

That's true but how about the street clean ups vandalism a&e treatments liver replacements if we add all this up over a number of years does it really profit them?

[quote=The Seeker]
If alcohol was banned lots of different industries would suffer as they depend on the sale of alcohol to keep them afloat such as off licences and newsagents, supermarkets would also suffer not to mention sports clubs and teams - many football club's source of revenue is drinks sales during half time and before and after the game.
[/quote]

I must say you have really thought about this

off licences and newsagents
I think not many people buy from them anyway as supermarkets have better deal to offer

Football clubs
Source of revenue should be ticket sales or other refreshments

Supermarkets
Supermarkets should not be reliant on alcohol sales nowadays most supermarkets have gone into the electronics, household equipment cloths business which has much more profit then alcohol

[quote=The Seeker]
As much as I agree with the fact that alcohol causes so much anti social behaviour which in turn costs lot of money its unrealistic to expect the government to completely ban it the best thing to hope and argue for is that alcohol becomes like cigarettes.
[/quote]

Sorry but with cigarettes all packets carry health warnings but I don't think anything has changed people just don't care about health warnings they would if it hit them in the pocket

The Seeker — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 - 10:27

[quote=The Seeker]
Furthermore the government is never going to completely ban alcohol as it brings in so much money for businesses and taxes in the same way cigarettes do.
[/quote]

That's true but how about the street clean ups vandalism a&e treatments liver replacements if we add all this up over a number of years does it really profit them?

It won't profit the NHS but it would profit smaller businesses. Think about restaurants many, even ones who sell halal meat sell alcohol as it boosts sales and keep them afloat. Bars, pubs and clubs as wrong as they are, if they all closed down due to the ban of alcohol Britain would go into an economic crisis due to the amount of income and employment they all create.

[quote=The Seeker]
If alcohol was banned lots of different industries would suffer as they depend on the sale of alcohol to keep them afloat such as off licences and newsagents, supermarkets would also suffer not to mention sports clubs and teams - many football club's source of revenue is drinks sales during half time and before and after the game.
[/quote]

I must say you have really thought about this

off licences and newsagents
I think not many people buy from them anyway as supermarkets have better deal to offer

Football clubs
Source of revenue should be ticket sales or other refreshments

you can argue that but the sale of alcohol in a major source of income for them not to mention the advertisement of alcohol; if advertisement was to be scrapped £180 million would be loss.

[quote=The Seeker]
As much as I agree with the fact that alcohol causes so much anti social behaviour which in turn costs lot of money its unrealistic to expect the government to completely ban it the best thing to hope and argue for is that alcohol becomes like cigarettes.
[/quote]

Sorry but with cigarettes all packets carry health warnings but I don't think anything has changed people just don't care about health warnings they would if it hit them in the pocket[/quote]

What I meant by this is that the attitude towards cigarettes has changed dramatically since the days of billboards telling people that smoking improved your lung capacity and therefore was good for you. Now many people especially young think of smoking as a disgusting habit which should be avoided. If alcohol was like that then t would greatly reduce the amount of problems. Also if like cigarettes it wasn't displayed and so readily available then it too would help reduce the amount of issues.

I agree with you that alcohol related problems are going and are serious but realistically banning it won't work as it would become like the prohibition in the US during the 1920s with illegal speakeasies, bootleggers and moonshining not to mention an increase in organised crime.

lollywood — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 - 20:36

[quote=The Seeker]
It won't profit the NHS
[/quote]

What if the NHS stops giving free health care and makes it like the US health system?
they are talking about changing it

[quote=The Seeker]
but it would profit smaller businesses.
[/quote]

Not as much as it use to I guess as tax's have gone up

[quote=The Seeker]
Think about restaurants many, even ones who sell halal meat sell alcohol
as it boosts sales and keep them afloat.
[/quote]

What if the same businesses were in Pakistan or Saudi? would they have that option to keep them afloat?

[quote=The Seeker]
Bars, pubs and clubs as wrong as they are, if they all closed down due to the ban of alcohol Britain would go into an economic crisis due to the amount of income and employment they all create.

the sale of alcohol in a major source of income for them not to mention the advertisement of alcohol; if advertisement was to be scrapped £180 million would be loss.
[/quote]

But Britain still went into a recession despite alcohol being available just a few years ago

[quote=The Seeker]
What I meant by this is that the attitude towards cigarettes has changed dramatically since the days of billboards telling people that smoking improved your lung capacity and therefore was good for you.
[/quote]

That's the states fault for telling people that its good

[quote=The Seeker]
Now many people especially young think of smoking as a disgusting habit which should be avoided.
[/quote]

I dont think so, kids think its cool to smoke it makes them feel like an adult

[quote=The Seeker]
If alcohol was like that then it would greatly reduce the amount of problems. Also if like cigarettes it wasn't displayed and so readily available then it too would help reduce the amount of issues.
[/quote]

I don't think display would make amy difference because people are use to it and the body would want what its use to even if you don't see it like illegal drugs you don't see them in the shops, you would get them from the street dealer whenever your body asks for them

[quote=The Seeker]
I agree with you that alcohol related problems are going and are serious but realistically banning it won't work as it would become like the prohibition in the US during the 1920s with illegal speakeasies, bootleggers and moonshining not to mention an increase in organised crime.[/quote]

We can crack down on that as it would be a limited activity and its more likely that they would die from alcohol poisoning