Time For Mimimum Unit Alcohol Pricing?

[ToraToraTora]

Just watching dispatches, apparently 50p per unit minimum pricing would save 1000 lives and save £5bn. So what do we think ABers?

[douglas9401]

I think you'll find that's nine units per litre, nailit.

http://www.beers.co.uk/alcohol-units/index.html

[royfromaus]

Maydup
I agree with the minimum unit price if for no reason other than to stop the supermarkets using alcohol as a loss leader. Independent pubs and restaurants cannot compete with these unrealisticly low prices and without them, our towns and villages will be dormant with no social or cultural heart.



Agree 100%. Good post.

[nailit]

Quiet right Douglas. Think my brains addled from years of drinking the stuff :-(

[woofgang]

Maydup and Royfromaus. I don't think that supermarket prices make that much difference. Independent pubs and restaurants have been struggling since the drink driving laws came in. My Mil and Fil had a pub so I know a bit about it.

Will this pricing do anything about the binge bars?

[Maydup]

Cheers Roy, I'm not a fan of cheap food or drink to be honest.

Whatever happened to Off Licences? Who remembers going up the Offie for a bottle of wine and a portion of chips on the way back? When was the last time any of us went to a delicatessen? Or even a butchers or a bakers? Support the minimum unit price on alcohol and you're supporting independent shops and high streets.

I know pubs are struggling for other reasons too, but a MUP will do them no harm at all.

[anaxcrosswords]

We had a post on here not long ago from someone asking about the potential ill effects of a planned holiday abroad which seemed to centre on serious binge drinking. I was going to respond along the lines of “You mindless ****” but resisted.
It’s an oddly British thing, this idea of planning recreational activities based on getting utterly leathered. It’s mind-boggling, yet we somehow rejoice in it. Really can’t imagine that this minimum pricing idea will have any effect at all – if idiots are resolved to get off their faces they’ll do it regardless of the price.
There was mention in an earlier reply about the effects of cheap booze overseas. Really? I don’t know about other countries but I can talk about Italy, where I do spend some time. A 1 litre carton of very palatable red wine costs less than 1Euro, and you can use that as a guide to how much other beverages cost. In all the time I’ve spent in Italy I’ve never seen a drunk Italian. Over there, drinking is a social thing done in moderation.

[ichkeria]

It may be an oddly British thing getting "leathered" quickly with lots of noise accompanying it, but generally speaking in countries with cheap alcohol you get enormous problems with alcoholism -- which is as much the issue as loutishness.
I don't understand the "penalises responsible drinkers" argument (usually code for "hands off my middle class lifestyle :-) ) Most of the "responsible social drinkers" are presumably not drinking to the degree that ultra-cheap alcohol become an issue of money-saving.

[royfromaus]

woofgang
Maydup and Royfromaus. I don't think that supermarket prices make that much difference.



It does, lots of friends who used to frequent the pub with me now stay in. They were not drink drivers, not even smokers. The price is the main reason. They actually drink more now but it costs them less.
Bizarrely it is now also cheaper to drink in a town or city than your local.

I remember when I was young you had a few 'cheap' ones at your local before you hit the town.

[woofgang]

What happened to the offie was that the wine became overpriced and the choice poor.

[Jeza]

ichkeria. I am not middle class with hands off my life style. I am someone who likes a night cap of a B&C with ice and a slice please. Why should I have to pay more because drunks are getting hammered. Their choice their health.

[seadogg]

Why do the middle classes always get panned, "hands off my middle class life style"?
Most of them have grafted for their brass and pay taxes through the nose.

[Jeza]

Seadogg, Mic and I grafted all our lives. We had a mortgage when it went to 15%
interest. Now we have savings which are earning next to nothing. Mic's care is costing over £1000 a month because of our savings. Do I care about the drunks and work shy.........Do I F.......

[ToraToraTora]

fair enough jeza but I'd have thought uncle ron was well over the 50p per unit anyway, even in the supermarket.

[ummmm]

This aimed at white lightening drinkers....

[boxtops]

My view is that however much it costs, those who are keen to have drink will still find the money for it, however they come by it. It sounds like a similar story to cigarette prices - many years back, my ex said he'd stop smoking when cigs went up to £1 a packet. Did he heck.

[ToraToraTora]

yes ummmm, I agree they are the target.

jeza a 70cl bottle of Bacardi = 28 units, cost £15.50, you are not effected by this.

[nailit]

I can see home brewing becoming popular...

[Maydup]

woofgang
What happened to the offie was that the wine became overpriced and the choice poor, compared to the supermarkets with their under cutting prices.

[royfromaus]

many years back, my ex said he'd stop smoking when cigs went up to £1 a packet. Did he heck.



Lots have though, boxtops.

[ToraToraTora]

"I can see home brewing becoming popular..." - my occasional attempts at wine/beer making have produced awful muck, I think I'll use the professionals!