Minimum Alcohol Pricing.

[Oldsmobile-88]

No surprise that it’s not worked.

Alcohol abuse is complex with many reasons, thankfully not been in that position myself, but a direct family member has, plus close friends have succumbed.
They would have bought booze whatever the price, that’s what addiction does. Surprised(well,not really) that the good & the great did not realise that.

Minimum alcohol price ‘causes poorest to cut back on food’ in Scotland

Some problem drinkers also reducing heating to afford rising alcohol costs, according to Public Health Scotland

www.theguardian.com

 

[Spoonz Red E]

No surprise that it’s not worked.

Alcohol abuse is complex with many reasons, thankfully not been in that position myself, but a direct family member has, plus close friends have succumbed.
They would have bought booze whatever the price, that’s what addiction does. Surprised(well,not really) that the good & the great did not realise that.

Minimum alcohol price ‘causes poorest to cut back on food’ in Scotland

Some problem drinkers also reducing heating to afford rising alcohol costs, according to Public Health Scotland

www.theguardian.com

It's more nuanced than the headline suggests.

From within the article ...
“At a population level MUP appears to be having positive benefits. We’ve seen a sustained decrease in how much we are drinking overall since the policy was implemented. Alongside this there have been encouraging reductions in hospital admissions from alcohol-related liver conditions and an initial 10% fewer alcohol-related deaths in 2019.”

It seems to be those already heavily addicted who are hit hard as per the headline.
The focus of the survey being on ...
"the “hard to reach” population of people who drink alcohol at harmful levels, including those dependent on alcohol and those accessing treatment services."

Less cheap booze may reduce future addictions.

 

[Alistair20000]

No surprise that it’s not worked.

Alcohol abuse is complex with many reasons, thankfully not been in that position myself, but a direct family member has, plus close friends have succumbed.
They would have bought booze whatever the price, that’s what addiction does. Surprised(well,not really) that the good & the great did not realise that.

Minimum alcohol price ‘causes poorest to cut back on food’ in Scotland

Some problem drinkers also reducing heating to afford rising alcohol costs, according to Public Health Scotland

www.theguardian.com

Politicians meddling so as you say no surprise it failed. A shame though.

 

[Hermann]

It's more nuanced than the headline suggests.

From within the article ...
“At a population level MUP appears to be having positive benefits. We’ve seen a sustained decrease in how much we are drinking overall since the policy was implemented. Alongside this there have been encouraging reductions in hospital admissions from alcohol-related liver conditions and an initial 10% fewer alcohol-related deaths in 2019.”

It seems to be those already heavily addicted who are hit hard as per the headline.
The focus of the survey being on ...
"the “hard to reach” population of people who drink alcohol at harmful levels, including those dependent on alcohol and those accessing treatment services."

Less cheap booze may reduce future addictions.

Yes it does work to a certain extent, but much like the war on drugs or "tough on crime" it's punishing the symptoms instead of treating the cause. It's a standard government (of all colours) response to a problem though, the easy headline fix over the less flashy, systemic solution.

 

[Spoonz Red E]

Yes it does work to a certain extent, but much like the war on drugs or "tough on crime" it's punishing the symptoms instead of treating the cause. It's a standard government (of all colours) response to a problem though, the easy headline fix over the less flashy, systemic solution.

I agree up to a point. I just though it was worth pointing out that the article didn't, in fact, say the project was failing although the headline implied that it would.

I too am wary of easy fixes and MUP is not a solution in itself but the fact that they are continually evaluating it and publishing the results both positive and negative is, IMHO, a good thing.

I was thinking as I read the article that if they are surveying this targetted group I hope they are offering more support off the back of it - which could be funded by some of the enhanced alcohol unit 'profit'.

 

[Hermann]

I agree up to a point. I just though it was worth pointing out that the article didn't, in fact, say the project was failing although the headline implied that it would.

I too am wary of easy fixes and MUP is not a solution in itself but the fact that they are continually evaluating it and publishing the results both positive and negative is, IMHO, a good thing.

I was thinking as I read the article that if they are surveying this targetted group I hope they are offering more support off the back of it - which could be funded by some of the enhanced alcohol unit 'profit'.

Yes, to be fair it has been more successful than those other examples. I've no faith in any government doing the unglamorous hard work to tackle these issues, but we can live in hope.

 

[Oldsmobile-88]

I've no faith in any government doing the unglamorous hard work to tackle these issues, but we can live in hope.

Indeed...There are not many votes to be gained when dealing with difficult social issues like this one.
The drinks industry like its gambling counterpart is very powerful in Parliament(lobbying)

BTW, good to see you back posting again Hermann