Britain's alcohol problem.

Stan_Lite · 19-01-2010, 06:03

How would you tackle it?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/8465939.stm

Just read this article and have heard similar stories bandied around for a while now - the Scottish parliament have been discussing minimum pricing on alcohol for a while now.

I'm not convinced minimum pricing is the answer. On the surface it seems like a good idea - if you make it more expensive to drink alcohol, people may drink less of it. One of the biggest problems with this is that you will be adversely affecting moderate sensible drinkers whose alcohol consumption causes no problems at all - people like me.
Minimum pricing affects people like the little old lady who likes a glass of sherry a couple of times a week. She saves up money from her pension to spend £3 on a cheap bottle of sherry that lasts her a fortnight - hardly a problem drinker. In comes price fixing and now she has to pay £7.50 for her bottle of sherry (50p per unit is the figure being quoted) and she can no longer afford her little pleasure.

A lot of the problem drinking can be attributed to ridiculously cheap alcohol. Supermarket offers like 18 cans of Stella for a tenner and then 2 for 1 shooters at the pub afterwards is a recipe for disaster really. The question is, if you make it more expensive to get wasted, will it stop people or will they just find the money somewhere and get smashed anyway?

Don't think I'm being sanctimonious here, I enjoy a drink and I like to get off my face occasionally too - it's therapeutic. When I do it though, I don't get into fights and I don't go screaming and shouting through the streets like a loony which seems to be popular nowadays. More often than not, I just sit grinning in the corner, babbling. Also, I don't do it every weekend - it's a rarity, not a way of life.

The more I think about it, the more I think it's a bad idea. In order to be effective, prices will need to be set at a level that will adversely affect the wrong people - the people who don't cause problems.

I don't have the answer. I do think that retailers should be forced to be more responsible but the people who are causing the problems - the drunks - need to be held accountable in some way also. After all, it was their idea to get drunk in the first place - nobody forced them.

What other solutions are there?

19-01-2010, 06:03	#1
Stan_Lite Stan, Stan the FLASHER MAN! Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: In bed with your sister Posts: 5,483	Britain's alcohol problem. How would you tackle it? http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/8465939.stm Just read this article and have heard similar stories bandied around for a while now - the Scottish parliament have been discussing minimum pricing on alcohol for a while now. I'm not convinced minimum pricing is the answer. On the surface it seems like a good idea - if you make it more expensive to drink alcohol, people may drink less of it. One of the biggest problems with this is that you will be adversely affecting moderate sensible drinkers whose alcohol consumption causes no problems at all - people like me. Minimum pricing affects people like the little old lady who likes a glass of sherry a couple of times a week. She saves up money from her pension to spend £3 on a cheap bottle of sherry that lasts her a fortnight - hardly a problem drinker. In comes price fixing and now she has to pay £7.50 for her bottle of sherry (50p per unit is the figure being quoted) and she can no longer afford her little pleasure. A lot of the problem drinking can be attributed to ridiculously cheap alcohol. Supermarket offers like 18 cans of Stella for a tenner and then 2 for 1 shooters at the pub afterwards is a recipe for disaster really. The question is, if you make it more expensive to get wasted, will it stop people or will they just find the money somewhere and get smashed anyway? Don't think I'm being sanctimonious here, I enjoy a drink and I like to get off my face occasionally too - it's therapeutic. When I do it though, I don't get into fights and I don't go screaming and shouting through the streets like a loony which seems to be popular nowadays. More often than not, I just sit grinning in the corner, babbling. Also, I don't do it every weekend - it's a rarity, not a way of life. The more I think about it, the more I think it's a bad idea. In order to be effective, prices will need to be set at a level that will adversely affect the wrong people - the people who don't cause problems. I don't have the answer. I do think that retailers should be forced to be more responsible but the people who are causing the problems - the drunks - need to be held accountable in some way also. After all, it was their idea to get drunk in the first place - nobody forced them. What other solutions are there? __________________ Just because I have a short attention span doesn't mean I...