Minimum Alcohol Price

[skinnybob72]

I see that the Scot Gov are in discussion with the drinks industry about increasing the minimum unit price from 50p to perhaps as high as 80p. This would add c£8 to a bottle of spirits! 
 

Seems to suggest the current minimum has been an absolute failure. 

[Better call Saul]

Where  I work folk moan about the price of pringles going up or milk very few moan about thier daily purchases of Buckfast , Stella etc etc 

[Dennis Denuto]

That's a pretty significant price increase. Ultimately the policy us designed to sell less units of alcohol so the question is how many has it reduced by since the 50p limit came in?

 

Personally if they are going to use this kind of thing I'd prefer it to be taxation that was used to inflate the price

 

[hughesie27]

They announced it had been relatively succesful a few months ago.

https://www.bmj.com/content/380/bmj.p672

 

They cant just keep rising the price though.

[henrysmithsgloves]

Who profits from all the extra added on? 

[Dick Dastardly]

14 minutes ago, Lord BJ said:

The money goes to the retailers it’s a license condition not a tax. 
 

I think supermarkets etc done quite well out it but boozers not so much.

It wouldn't really have effected the prices in pubs, would it? 

[New Town Loafer]

Another joke from a joke administration.

[Cade]

50p/unit only ever touched the mankiest, cheapest gut-rot shite on the shelves anyway.

It'd be good if a portion of the additional minimum price was ring-fenced for the NHS or something similar. 

Retailers keep their part of the extra cash; the rest goes to a proper good cause.

 

Or, producers may reduce the alcohol content of their products to keep the prices low.

That's been happening for a while anyways; I remember almost every can of lager on the shelves being a minimum of 4% back in the day, these days you'll find some lagers as low as 2%.
 

80p/unit makes a 4-pack of Tennent's (440mil) cost £5.63
 

[i8hibsh]

Getting right to the heart of the countries woes as usual.  Next bill will be to have more fragranced bog roll in public toilets.

[Dick Dastardly]

22 minutes ago, Lord BJ said:

That’s the point as I understand it. Pubs/clubs don’t see the additional revenue as it doesn’t change their pricing model. That’s not the case for off sales whose revenue increased despite reduced marginal sales. Obviously no guarantee that converts to profit but hard not to think it will. 

It was from article I read on, albeit it was based on SG modelling. 
 

 Albeit, reading a couple of articles about it more recently it’s hard to understand the impact it’s had due to other factors such as COVID etc. 

 

Yeah, i remember some of the alky drinks going up a huge amount. White cider bottles going up from £2.50 odd to nearly £12. That's bound to have saved a few stomach linings if nothing else. 

[skinnybob72]

I’m in England every other week so prices in Scottish supermarkets don’t make any difference to me, although I’ve never (yet…) gone out of my way to bring booze home. 

[Dick Dastardly]

4 minutes ago, skinnybob72 said:

I’m in England every other week so prices in Scottish supermarkets don’t make any difference to me, although I’ve never (yet…) gone out of my way to bring booze home. 

I can get an asda home delivery from Carlisle and get it cheaper as well. 

[joondalupjambo]

31 minutes ago, i8hibsh said:

Getting right to the heart of the countries woes as usual.  Next bill will be to have more fragranced bog roll in public toilets.

You talk some rubbish i8 🙂

Where, oh where are there any public toilets anyone can find that are open ? 🙂

 

[Jeffros Furios]

32 minutes ago, i8hibsh said:

Getting right to the heart of the countries woes as usual.  Next bill will be to have more fragranced bog roll in public toilets.

I hear you have rainbow coloured bog roll 🌈 

[Dennis Reynolds]

3 minutes ago, Dick Dastardly said:

I can get an asda home delivery from Carlisle and get it cheaper as well. 

 

Is it much cheaper? I can't say I ever really noticed tbh but I don't drink much in the house anymore.

[ArcticJambo]

13 minutes ago, Dick Dastardly said:

Yeah, i remember some of the alky drinks going up a huge amount. White cider bottles going up from £2.50 odd to nearly £12. That's bound to have saved a few stomach linings if nothing else. 

Other than jakes, who else is buying that stuff, teens sharing a coupl eof bottles maybe?  Otherwise those who 'needed' the strong ciders would simply go onto other stuff and be all the more poorer for it. It's just going to put the moderate drinker off, or rather piss them off a bit more.

 

Have I drank less since it was introduced? Nope! Have I spent more on it than I would have had it not been there? Yup!  Ohhwell.

 

[Radio Ga Ga]

6 minutes ago, Dennis Reynolds said:

 

Is it much cheaper? I can't say I ever really noticed tbh but I don't drink much in the house anymore.

As an example, Asda had a ‘promotion’ in England of 3 packs of Coors Light for £21 a couple of months ago. In Scotland multi deals on alcohol are no longer allowed and it was sold up here for £9 per pack (12 bottles)

[Doctor FinnBarr]

26 minutes ago, Dennis Reynolds said:

 

Is it much cheaper? I can't say I ever really noticed tbh but I don't drink much in the house anymore.

 

I think a litre of vodka sells at £17 or thereabouts compared to a minimum price of £18.75 here. If I go to a Coop south of the border I get a 30% discount on that £17.

[¼½¾]

Wow, upping it to 80p would make my Westons cider £19.68 for six bottles. It's £9.50 in England. It would be worth a booze run if I couldn't get 12 for £18 on Amazon. 

[jackal]

People depending on alcohol will still get it regardless, this may be by cutting back on food for themselves and their kids or other ways.

It could also mean moving onto street drugs for a hit at a much cheaper cost than alcohol.

deaths per year, apparently deaths by accidental means are included.

 

2014    1,036
2015    1,045
2016    1,139
2017    1,120
2018    1,136
2019    1,020
2020    1,190
2021    1,245

Minimum pricing came into effect 2018 and although there is a drop this year its hardly drastic drops since it started. 2021 was the highest since 2008.

 

Using the extra cost to benefit the demographic most affected would help but will never happen.

 

Fair enough to raise it with inflation but 50p to 80p is not the rate of inflation.

[Negan]

Taking away the peoples freedom of choice. Why punish the majority of people who can drink responsibly?

[i8hibsh]

1 minute ago, Negan said:

Taking away the peoples freedom of choice. Why punish the majority of people who can drink responsibly?

 

The SNP are all about minorities and always have been.  Almost every decision they make is based on what may be best for a very small percentage of people.

[All roads lead to Gorgie]

If you order from an online supplier in England say, how will they add on the extra cost especially if it is for a case of wine or 24 pack of beer say where it's discounted the more you buy. 

[Ribble]

6 minutes ago, All roads lead to Gorgie said:

If you order from an online supplier in England say, how will they add on the extra cost especially if it is for a case of wine or 24 pack of beer say where it's discounted the more you buy. 

 

There is no extra cost for them to add on, sure the minimum pricing law sets the price companies in scotland can sell booze for and not the price that people in scotland can buy booze for, if that makes sense. 

[All roads lead to Gorgie]

2 minutes ago, Ribble said:

 

There is no extra cost for them to add on, sure the minimum pricing law sets the price companies in scotland can sell booze for and not the price that people in scotland can buy booze for, if that makes sense. 

That does make total sense. I did read one retailer say they would have to put different labels on bottles they sent to Scotland but that was to do with the failed bottle return scheme.

[ri Alban]

4 hours ago, skinnybob72 said:

I see that the Scot Gov are in discussion with the drinks industry about increasing the minimum unit price from 50p to perhaps as high as 80p. This would add c£8 to a bottle of spirits! 
 

Seems to suggest the current minimum has been an absolute failure. 

The opposite.  It's a success.  The numbers don't lie.

[ri Alban]

28 minutes ago, i8hibsh said:

 

The SNP are all about minorities and always have been.  Almost every decision they make is based on what may be best for a very small percentage of people.

Bandwagon much.

[ri Alban]

Booze is cheap as feck and is causthe NHS problems.  God forbid the government doesn't try to solve them.

[i8hibsh]

12 minutes ago, ri Alban said:

Booze is cheap as feck and is causthe NHS problems.  God forbid the government doesn't try to solve them.

 

 

It is cheaper to buy our own domestic drinks down in England. In what way do you think that is cheap?

[Negan]

1 hour ago, i8hibsh said:

 

The SNP are all about minorities and always have been.  Almost every decision they make is based on what may be best for a very small percentage of people.

I agree.

[frankblack]

This shows that the policy is a complete failure, and clueless politicians think that they can cover their blushes by pricing alcohol beyond what is affordable.  Hopefully they get their arses handed to them by the lawyers from the drinks companies.

 

Its been proven that the problem drinkers don't cut their alcohol intake - they cut other things like food from their budget to sacrifice.

[skinnybob72]

42 minutes ago, ri Alban said:

The opposite.  It's a success.  The numbers don't lie.

Which numbers? How many lives have improved, or been saved, specifically as a result of minimum pricing?

 

If people are drinking less it could be for a variety of reasons, for example the cost of living having rocketed in the last couple of years? 
 

It was introduced simply so the Scot Gov could say “Look, we’ve done something.” 

[highlandjambo3]

5 hours ago, Better call Saul said:

Where  I work folk moan about the price of pringles going up or milk very few moan about thier daily purchases of Buckfast , Stella etc etc 

Jakeys gotta jake

 

 

[Dick Dastardly]

3 hours ago, Dennis Reynolds said:

 

Is it much cheaper? I can't say I ever really noticed tbh but I don't drink much in the house anymore.

I don't think there is that much in it. You can get the deals so if you're buying quite a bit then you can make some savings. It's been ages since i used asda so it may have changed. 

[jackal]

51 minutes ago, ri Alban said:

The opposite.  It's a success.  The numbers don't lie.

The average related deaths in 2014-17 was 1085 for the 4 years previous to MUP which started 2018 but deaths between 2018-2021 was 1148.

2021 was the highest since 2008.

 

[Hansel]

1 minute ago, jackal said:

The average related deaths in 2014-17 was 1085 for the 4 years previous to MUP which started 2018 but deaths between 2018-2021 was 1148.

2021 was the highest since 2008.

 

Wonder if lockdown had an impact? Folk stuck at home with nothing to do but drink themselves into an oblivion. 

[tightrope]

2 minutes ago, jackal said:

The average related deaths in 2014-17 was 1085 for the 4 years previous to MUP which started 2018 but deaths between 2018-2021 was 1148.

2021 was the highest since 2008.

 

I was told by a friend who is in the know, that alcohol related deaths, and deaths caused by the effects of drinking alcohol are a bit off. For instance if I fell off a ladder after having a pint of shandy, I would be an alcohol related death and included in the figures. However cirrhosis figures would take ten years to evaluate any success. It's just a tax. Education and help would be the way forward but that would cost. 

[jackal]

6 minutes ago, Hansel said:

Wonder if lockdown had an impact? Folk stuck at home with nothing to do but drink themselves into an oblivion. 

I imagine it would have. I myself was off work the entire time added to the excellent weather we had. I was in the garden almost every day with a few beers.

 

1 minute ago, tightrope said:

I was told by a friend who is in the know, that alcohol related deaths, and deaths caused by the effects of drinking alcohol are a bit off. For instance if I fell off a ladder after having a pint of shandy, I would be an alcohol related death and included in the figures. However cirrhosis figures would take ten years to evaluate any success. It's just a tax. Education and help would be the way forward but that would cost. 

Yes, I mentioned this in an earlier post. Its in the national records,

[Thunder and Lightning]

It's clearly not working. Look at the fact that posters on here say it is, despite the numbers saying otherwise. 

 

They are part of the problem most likely. 

 

Pissed in charge of a keyboard. 😂 

[XB52]

1 hour ago, skinnybob72 said:

Which numbers? How many lives have improved, or been saved, specifically as a result of minimum pricing?

 

If people are drinking less it could be for a variety of reasons, for example the cost of living having rocketed in the last couple of years? 
 

It was introduced simply so the Scot Gov could say “Look, we’ve done something.” 

There was a report saying that MP had saved 115 lives a year since implementation. Of course that will be a guesstimate but it was touted as showing MP had worked.

The jump from 50p to 80p seems huge and I suspect we are more likely to see it going up to 60p. 

[tightrope]

1 hour ago, XB52 said:

There was a report saying that MP had saved 115 lives a year since implementation. Of course that will be a guesstimate but it was touted as showing MP had worked.

The jump from 50p to 80p seems huge and I suspect we are more likely to see it going up to 60p. 

The old projected decrease in the projected increase classic. These charlatans will make the figures say what they want. I'm done with the SNP. ****ing work my arse off and having to cut down my shopping and switch my heating off. Now they want to make it impossible for me to have a beer at the weekend. 

[Spellczech]

I remember being at Asda Chesser and the old dear behind me was buyng own brand whisky and supernoodles. Cannot say I'm looking forward to getting old...

[Jambo-Jimbo]

3 hours ago, frankblack said:

This shows that the policy is a complete failure, and clueless politicians think that they can cover their blushes by pricing alcohol beyond what is affordable.  Hopefully they get their arses handed to them by the lawyers from the drinks companies.

 

Its been proven that the problem drinkers don't cut their alcohol intake - they cut other things like food from their budget to sacrifice.

 

Public Health Scotland produced a report just last year which confirmed that.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/jun/07/minimum-alcohol-pricing-causes-poorest-cut-back-food-scotland

[XB52]

25 minutes ago, tightrope said:

The old projected decrease in the projected increase classic. These charlatans will make the figures say what they want. I'm done with the SNP. ****ing work my arse off and having to cut down my shopping and switch my heating off. Now they want to make it impossible for me to have a beer at the weekend. 

The report was nothing to do with the SNP

[BlueRiver]

7 hours ago, Dennis Reynolds said:

 

Is it much cheaper? I can't say I ever really noticed tbh but I don't drink much in the house anymore.

 

Drinks promotions probably mean yes but drink for drink? It would probably depend what you're into. I think when this first came in a lot of your normal drinks were barely affected whereas your rocket fuel 9% ciders and the like went up dramatically. 

[tightrope]

1 hour ago, XB52 said:

The report was nothing to do with the SNP

Who said it was? The legislation is.

[escobri]

If they were really serious the stuff would be banned, money grabbing *****.

[the posh bit]

9 hours ago, i8hibsh said:

Getting right to the heart of the countries woes as usual.  Next bill will be to have more fragranced bog roll in public toilets.

 

You say that like its a bad thing. 

[Greedy Jambo]

An addict will do whatever they need to do to get their fix, If they can't afford it, they will go without food, miss important bills, scrounge, steal, the lot. 

 

Minimum unit pricing does not work. 

[heartsfc_fan]

In England for a few days this week and it's quite unreal walking into a local Co-op and there's boxes of lager on special offer by the door 😂 was also in Morrisons the other day and they were selling 8x 500ml bottles of ale (can't remember what brand) in a special "crate offer" for £8.