Minimum Alcohol Price in Scotland

[jonewer]

However that doesn't make it right. There is a growing problem in this country of Alcohol and drug related social problems which won't be solved by some form of prohibition. Education is what is required and to a greater extent tackling the social issues which are the cause of our alcohol problems in this country. The latter will never happen.

I disagree that theres a growing problem. There has always been a problem with people wanting to get totally splattered at every opportunity. Witness Hogarth's 'Gin Lane'.

I do totally agree that there is a social problem and the question should be, "Why do people in this country feel the need to drown themselves in a sea of intoxication as frequently as they can manage?"

Nobody asks that though and the response of government is, as it is for everything, to make it more expensive.

I was out in Spain last month, buying decent red wine from the supermarkets for 1euro - 1.25euro a bottle. Once I pushed the boat out and bought a 1.99euro bottle. Strangely though in Spain you dont get hoards of lairy and malevolent drunken Spanish teenagers vomiting and picking fights in the streets every night.

 

[graysalchemy]

Anyone watch secret millionaire on sunday? Anyway the guy visited a hostel for women many with drink and drug problems. They were freely drinking booze but the booze they were drinking was cheap 9% cider. Which secor of the brewing industry has the lowest level of taxation..................


Its not rocket science..........


Cider

Same problem as Hogarths day except different drink.

Perhaps someone from our government should go on secret millionaire (there's enough of them Osbourne perhaps) and go onto the streets and actually see the problems first hand, then they might realise that people causing the problems are not drinking 300ml bottles of Old Tom but actually 2L bottles of Diamond Tramp Juice.

I know they are trying to protect our Cider apple growers but probably 90+% of the apple Juice comes concentrated from China and not from our west country cider orchards.

 

[jonewer]

Perhaps someone from our government should go on secret millionaire (there's enough of them Osbourne perhaps) and go onto the streets and actually see the problems first hand, then they might realise that people causing the problems are not drinking 300ml bottles of Old Tom but actually 2L bottles of Diamond Tramp Juice.

I know they are trying to protect our Cider apple growers but probably 90+% of the apple Juice comes concentrated from China and not from our west country cider orchards.

And if you raise the duty on cider then they'll drink beer. Or vodka. Or huff petrol.

It doesnt address the underlying problem, which is; Why do so many people regularly drink to excess and behave badly having done so? Meanwhile we will have punished responsible cider drinkers and further damaged an age-old traditional industry thats very much a part of our heritage.

Maybe a half sensible government might alter taxation to target cider made from concentrate, or beer fermented at a minimum temperature, but this still isnt going to solve to underlying problem.

 

[graysalchemy]

Sorry I should have said vaguely apple flavoured industrially fermented beverage. In fact if the cider industry lobbied for cider to only called cider if it was made from 100% fresh apples then you could tax the tramp juice higher and close the loop hole.

Brewing beer is also a historical industry worth protecting and there are a lot of responsible beer drinkers who would like to enjoy a pint above 3.8% without having to pay a fortune.

But you are right and the point I made in my first post that we need to solve the underlying problems in society but that of course would cost money.

Still think cider should be taxed the same as beer though.