minimum alcohol price

Mad Roadie

Government proposess a minimum alcohol price

The government is proposing a minimum price of 40p per unit of alcohol in England and Wales in an effort to stamp out binge-drinking culture.

well its about time, but at 40p its half what it should be!

CambsNewbie

Mad Roadie wrote:

Government proposess a minimum alcohol price

The government is proposing a minimum price of 40p per unit of alcohol in England and Wales in an effort to stamp out binge-drinking culture.

well its about time, but at 40p its half what it should be!

Why?? Why should I pay more for a bottle of wine every couple of weeks just because some people can't control themselves? That isn't fair. The vast majority of people can have a few drinks and enjoy themselves. It's a tiny minority who drink to excess. Make them pay. If they need to use the NHS because of self inflicted alcohol problems eg on a Saturday night when they fall over drunk or drink themselves into oblivion, charge them £250 for the service. That will start to make them think twice.

Making the majority pay for the minorities excess is wrong.

verylonglegs

A minimum price of 40p a unit won't really affect your bottle of wine, it would mean it has to be a least around £5 which is what you are probably paying already if you've any taste. It's intended target is cheap cider and beer.

Giraffoto

They had a guy on the radio saying it would penalize sensible drinkers - which suggests that "sensible" to him still includes buying bus shelter grade sherry or 24-can slabs of wifebeater from Tesco. 40p/unit won't affect people unless they only drink to get drunk as cheaply as possible

amaferanga

Charging the muppets for their treatment at A&E would be my preferred option.

Don't think the 40p will make any difference to the price of the beer I buy occasionally from the supermarket anyway.

daviesee

verylonglegs wrote:

A minimum price of 40p a unit won't really affect your bottle of wine, it would mean it has to be a least around £5 which is what you are probably paying already if you've any taste. It's intended target is cheap cider and beer.

Wine = 9 units x 40p = 3.60. Is that really going to affect a lot of people?

capt_slog

daviesee wrote:

verylonglegs wrote:

A minimum price of 40p a unit won't really affect your bottle of wine, it would mean it has to be a least around £5 which is what you are probably paying already if you've any taste. It's intended target is cheap cider and beer.

Wine = 9 units x 40p = 3.60. Is that really going to affect a lot of people?

It will affect my Asda, "3 for £10" deals.

team47b

CambsNewbie wrote:

Mad Roadie wrote:

Government proposess a minimum alcohol price

The government is proposing a minimum price of 40p per unit of alcohol in England and Wales in an effort to stamp out binge-drinking culture.

well its about time, but at 40p its half what it should be!

Why?? Why should I pay more for a bottle of wine every couple of weeks just because some people can't control themselves? That isn't fair. The vast majority of people can have a few drinks and enjoy themselves. It's a tiny minority who drink to excess. Make them pay. If they need to use the NHS because of self inflicted alcohol problems eg on a Saturday night when they fall over drunk or drink themselves into oblivion, charge them £250 for the service. That will start to make them think twice.

Making the majority pay for the minorities excess is wrong.

Isn't getting the more well off to pay for the less well off, the fairer redistribution of wealth, what is being asked for in Britain? Bankers Champers subsidising cheap brand cider is a result of this, noblesse oblige is alive and well in the 21st century.

It wont "curb excessive consumption" as the government is hoping.

If you shop at a supermarket for your food aren't you also subsidising the obese buying in the 'cheap aisle'? Does this curb excessive consumption of pies? You are paying for this too!

couldn't find the smilie for self righteous indignation

rick_chasey

If you're a sensible drinker, it will cost you less than someone who drinks excessively.

The tax/price is on the amount of alcohol, rather than the quantity of the beverage.

GiantMike

Is the issue binge drinkers ruining City cerntre or the impact on people's health. On Radio 4 this morning both sides were argued.

If it's binge drinking, employ alco-snipers. Anybody seen staggering or causing offence gets sniped with a tranquiliser and their bodies get put into the back of a van and dropped off at random locations around the country.

If it's health, put a picture of Oliver Reed on every drink for each unit of alcohol it contains. A bottle of wine would be '9 Ollies'. Or a picture of a fat lass and the words 'After 18 units of alcohol you could wake up next to this'.

You can't price people off alcohol, you have to scare them st!tless.

symo

There is an easy way to stop binge drinking culture, and that is a small ammendment to licensing laws for town centres, you simply force town centre operators to introduce a minimum price of £4 on Fri/Sat/Sun if there has been proven trouble with binge drinking in that area on Fri/Sat/Sun. Prices can move back down once people can control themselves. Local magistrates can invoke it following a bout of trouble, it would also apply to supermarkets in the area, and hard liquor would have an extra mandatory £4 on the previous cost no exceptions.

Harsh but would work.

daviesee

Capt Slog wrote:

daviesee wrote:

verylonglegs wrote:

A minimum price of 40p a unit won't really affect your bottle of wine, it would mean it has to be a least around £5 which is what you are probably paying already if you've any taste. It's intended target is cheap cider and beer.

Wine = 9 units x 40p = 3.60. Is that really going to affect a lot of people?

It will affect my Asda, "3 for £10" deals.

Treat yourself to some real wine instead of WSO*.
You can get quality cheap wine abroad but the stuff they sell on the cheap here is cheap for a reason.
Cheap being less than a fiver and 3 for 2 being the deal.

*Wine Shaped Objects.

byke68

Part of the problem is that you can get booze anywhere. Years ago it was only pubs and off-licences, now you can get it in you newsagents and every corner shop. Plus they are open seven days a week for 14 hours or more per day.
Supermarkets don't help when they push their deals at every public holiday and big occasions like international football & rugby matches. They are subliminaly saying "go on, get pissed, it's a special time".
I don't drink much any more because a night out is too expensive and have a higher risk of getting done over by some boozed up moron who can't handle his drink. If you can't handle it, don't do it!
There, got that off my chest, I fancy a drink now..................................

Giraffoto

daviesee wrote:

Treat yourself to some real wine instead of WSO*.
. . .
*Wine Shaped Objects.

You unspeakable philistine. The correct term is corner shop p!$$ or CSP, coined some years ago by that connoisseur and bon vivant Bernard Black

MattC59

This will only effect you if you're drinking bargain basement muck.

If you're buying nice beer or wine and drinking it to enjoy the beer/wine rather than just to get sh*tfaced, they it won't effect you.

The BBC wrote:

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

If you're buying red wine at £2.99 per bottle or lager at £0.75 per can, you're not buying it to enjoy it.

Personally, also think that if you're drinking that sort of muck, then you need a deterrant anyway !!!

Frank the tank

Re-introduce licensing laws on pubs and stop supermarkets etc selling alcohol aswell if the govornment want to try and curb binge drinking.

inkyfingers

symo wrote:

There is an easy way to stop binge drinking culture, and that is a small ammendment to licensing laws for town centres, you simply force town centre operators to introduce a minimum price of £4 on Fri/Sat/Sun if there has been proven trouble with binge drinking in that area on Fri/Sat/Sun. Prices can move back down once people can control themselves. Local magistrates can invoke it following a bout of trouble, it would also apply to supermarkets in the area, and hard liquor would have an extra mandatory £4 on the previous cost no exceptions.

Harsh but would work.

That would work for the big Wetherspoons type booze halls full of half dressed slappers getting pissed on VKs, but what about the quiet wine bar or back street pub round the corner, they'd have to raise their prices to the same level or they'd get swamped with the VK brigade. Either way the sensible drinkers would get screwed, either by high prices or by having to share their bar with Sharon, Tracy and Donna doing tequila slammers.

This minimum price business is a load of rubbish, at 40p a unit it won't put off the binge drinkers and if you make it any higher you penalise the majority of people who can drink in moderation.

In my opinion the only solution is more draconian laws on being drunk and disorderly and harsher penalties for those caught puking or peeing in the street, brawling or vandalising property after consuming alchohol. The snag with this is do the police really have the capacity to deal with potentially such a large number of offenders?

I like the idea of people having to pay for their NHS treatment if their injuries are self inflicted, but you know that all the human rights lot would go mental and that the NHS would have a hell of a job getting the money out of the sort of person who they'd typically be treating.

daviesee

Giraffoto wrote:

You unspeakable philistine. The correct term is corner shop p!$$ or CSP, coined some years ago by that connoisseur and bon vivant Bernard Black

Thanks for the correction but I was only trying a play on words BSO -> WSO.

rick_chasey

inkyfingers wrote:

In my opinion the only solution is more draconian laws on being drunk and disorderly and harsher penalties for those caught puking or peeing in the street, brawling or vandalising property after consuming alchohol. The snag with this is do the police really have the capacity to deal with potentially such a large number of offenders?

I like the idea of people having to pay for their NHS treatment if their injuries are self inflicted, but you know that all the human rights lot would go mental and that the NHS would have a hell of a job getting the money out of the sort of person who they'd typically be treating.

Brits have been blind drunk in public for literally centuries.

I've read a lot newspaper articles from 1800 discussing how to take back cities centres on a Friday and Saturday night from unsavoury drunken people who get into fights all the time and cause disruption.

It's more English than bloody tea.

This is the one thing that will be phenomenally difficult to change.

capt_slog

daviesee wrote:

Capt Slog wrote:

daviesee wrote:

verylonglegs wrote:

A minimum price of 40p a unit won't really affect your bottle of wine, it would mean it has to be a least around £5 which is what you are probably paying already if you've any taste. It's intended target is cheap cider and beer.

Wine = 9 units x 40p = 3.60. Is that really going to affect a lot of people?

It will affect my Asda, "3 for £10" deals.

Treat yourself to some real wine instead of WSO*.
You can get quality cheap wine abroad but the stuff they sell on the cheap here is cheap for a reason.
Cheap being less than a fiver and 3 for 2 being the deal.

*Wine Shaped Objects.

You've obviously not taken advantage of this offer then?

I don't call three bottles of some nice Jacobs Creek normally selling at around £7 a bottle, WSO's, I call them a bargain.

But if you want to pay full price for them, go ahead, I'm sure the wine will taste all the better for it.

Blacktemplar

The problem lies at the heart of our culture - exacerbated by cheaply-available alcohol almost 24/7. It appears to be a peculiarly northern-European issue, and is so deep-rooted that facile solutions like minimum pricing will only ever be a political gesture. Until and unless we can stamp out the social attitude that says getting as hammered as you can is amusing and cool, nothing will change. Being drunk in public has to become as socially unacceptable as not wearing a seatbelt was made to feel in the seventies and eighties, or as smoking is becoming now. The Government raises huge revenues from alcohol, it employs significant numbers in the UK, and the supermarket multiples who benefit form the sale of cheap booze are a powerful political and economic lobby. Sadly it will take a cultural and political revolution to change attitudes to drink in the UK.

Jez mon

The idea about getting drunks to pay for their own medical treatment is somewhat of a slippery slope surely, do you extend it to smokers? What about cyclists who get hit because they were riding on a road where there was a "perfectly good" cycle path...

But how do you fundamentally define binge drinking, I have a feeling that Poppy, Tabitha and Verity are probably getting well over the NHS binge drinking limit in their quiet little wine bar!

MattC59

inkyfingers wrote:

I like the idea of people having to pay for their NHS treatment if their injuries are self inflicted, but you know that all the human rights lot would go mental and that the NHS would have a hell of a job getting the money out of the sort of person who they'd typically be treating.

Simple. Don't treat people who are stupid enough to eat/drink/smoke themselves into serious ill health. That way, natural selection starts to work again and we rid the country of the scum who choose to leach off the NHS.

"So Mr Chav, you've drunk so much that you found it amusing to smash up a bar, get into a fight and choke on your own vomit. You say that this is great fun, a standard Saturday night and you say you can't pay to fix this ? Well, in that case I think society is better off with out you. Goodbye and enjoy your vomit."

(sit's back with popcorn and waits for the flames !)

greg66_tri_v2.0

Is this going to affect prices of fine Bordeaux, or cooking (=NV) Champers?

No?

Who cares then?

<quaff, quaff, quaff>

daviesee

Capt Slog wrote:

You've obviously not taken advantage of this offer then?
I don't call three bottles of some nice Jacobs Creek normally selling at around £7 a bottle, WSO's, I call them a bargain.
But if you want to pay full price for them, go ahead, I'm sure the wine will taste all the better for it.

Fair point. That example is a bargain but it is a loss leader that stores can't sustain.
I have tried it (not with Jacobs Creek) and can't say that I enjoyed the experience.
I do seek out bargains but they tend to be slightly higher in the price bracket.

OT - I used to enjoy Jacobs Creek but either I have developed a taste for finer wines or my tastes have changed but I find them too sugary now. Much prefer French wines with a green label* on top of the cork these days.

*manufactured & bottled in the estate as opposed to factory produced.

socrates

Dearer alcohol, dearer oil, dearer petrol etc. means more tax for the Government. Do you really think they care about drunkeness - no, only how much they can fleece off us. Much better idea to put more police on the streets and stop the pussyfooting around. Give the idiots proper long sentences

MattC59

Capt Slog wrote:

daviesee wrote:

Capt Slog wrote:

daviesee wrote:

verylonglegs wrote:

A minimum price of 40p a unit won't really affect your bottle of wine, it would mean it has to be a least around £5 which is what you are probably paying already if you've any taste. It's intended target is cheap cider and beer.

Wine = 9 units x 40p = 3.60. Is that really going to affect a lot of people?

It will affect my Asda, "3 for £10" deals.

Treat yourself to some real wine instead of WSO*.
You can get quality cheap wine abroad but the stuff they sell on the cheap here is cheap for a reason.
Cheap being less than a fiver and 3 for 2 being the deal.

*Wine Shaped Objects.

You've obviously not taken advantage of this offer then?

I don't call three bottles of some nice Jacobs Creek normally selling at around £7 a bottle, WSO's, I call them a bargain.

But if you want to pay full price for them, go ahead, I'm sure the wine will taste all the better for it.

Rather than pay full price, or even 3 for a tenner, would it be ok if I didn't have them at all ?

Jez mon

socrates wrote:

Dearer alcohol, dearer oil, dearer petrol etc. means more tax for the Government. Do you really think they care about drunkeness - no, only how much they can fleece off us. Much better idea to put more police on the streets and stop the pussyfooting around. Give the idiots proper long sentences

So you're proposing getting rid of a revenue generator with something that costs a lot of money.

socrates

Most certainly am. Sick of watching the Govt take my money and throw it around Iraq and Afghanistan (countries that had nothing to do with us) and then claim there is none here at home for health, education, POLICING etc. We end up paying huge taxes to finance these wars when we are not the world's police.

MattC59

socrates wrote:

Most certainly am. Sick of watching the Govt take my money and throw it around Iraq and Afghanistan (countries that had nothing to do with us) and then claim there is none here at home for health, education, POLICING etc. We end up paying huge taxes to finance these wars when we are not the world's police.

Out of interest, you state that you're in Ireland. North or South ? Paying UK or Irish taxes ?
I'm sure you can appreciate my confusion; if you're in Northern Ireland, then why did you state Ireland, and if you're in Ireland, then your gripes above have a huge flaw.

socrates

Northern and it is still Ireland and I am not saying that for any political reasons. South of the border is Southern Ireland, Eire or Ireland. Paying my taxes to the British exchequer and have no problem with paying the taxes, my problem is what the taxes are used for.