alcohol tax

[big-all]

another tax on the poor
wont effect sherry good wine or
average priced spirits
assuming 50p a unit [minimum suggested 45p]
spirits 1L=£20.87 ---70cl £14
white cider 7.5% 1L £3.75 2L £7.50
4% beer or laager £1.95L or 99p per 500ml

[wine~o]

Peees me right off...it won't stop the Binge drinkers, However my 2 cans of cider per evening will cost £2.70 as opposed to £1.89..

Just 20(ish) years ago the then Govt. passed a law that enabled 24 hour drinking in bars, as this would make things better, coz there would be no rush at "last orders"...

Also multi-buys are being banned (assuming the act is passed through parliament)

Alcohol is being demonised so that it can be taxed higher, fuel duty on the increase, the country is practically bankrupt..

Time for a revolution...

[big-all]

5,5% then at £2.70

i dont think they will get away with it the drinks lobby are stronger and more vocal than the pasty lobby

[wine~o]

6% @ 500ml... Lets call it half a litre...Thing is the weaker ciders contain either sugar or artificial sweeteners (Which can't be good for you)...

[wine~o]

i dont think they will get away with it the drinks lobby are stronger and more vocal than the pasty lobby

They've already "got away with it" in Scotland (Though there are still as many binge drinkers/alcoholics there as there were before..)

"They" have already demonised smoking (according to a 1920's advert I've got it's good for you)

"They" are demonising driving..despite a car being a Necessity if you don't live in a metropolis....

[Cannyfixit]

I agree i dont think for one minute it will stop binge drinking,alcoholics,drug addicts,gamblers will stop at nothing to get there fix,so maybe a increase in petty crime if this goes ahead
a government spokesman said today that this will not affect drinks in the pubs just supermarkets,maybe this might slow down the increasing number of pubs that are closing down

[big-all]

by definition prices will increase in pubs i would say by 20% as theres less competition and margins are squeezed in pubs at the min

[wine~o]

[quote="Cannyfixit",maybe this might slow down the increasing number of pubs that are closing down[/quote]

Canny Can't agree, I used the name "Wine~o" purely because I was an off-licence/wine shop manager for 20 odd years..

Most peopleof a certain generation will drink as a social exercise, or at home in a moderate way..

Those that drink to excess in public houses will continue to do so.

The Licence holder of either establishment has a duty of care to ensure that the customer is not endangering their own health by over consumption.

The laws to prevent "Binge drinking" are already in place, IE if you are inebriated you won't get served (I Had a few heated "Discussions" regards this, with customers who would try to bottle/knife/punch/kick/dismember me if they disagreed)

Point is that if )IF the licence holders were doing there job, and alcohol wasn't available off the back of a van...this pointless piece of legislation would not be req'd.

Were you never told by a responsible Landlord to go home? and we'll be pleased to see you tomorrow when you are sober???

[ayjay]

Of course it won't stop binge drinking, it's a revenue raiser plain and simple, promoting lower income tax rates (usually more to the benefit of the rich than the poor) and pushing up indirect taxes has long been the Tory way.

[Mooncat]

I'm not too bothered as I don't drink that much, but I can't see it stopping bingers. At Uni the younger students could put it away, with drinks cheaper in the Union Bar. Never got my leg over though!

[joinerjohn]

Let's get it right about the term "Binge Drinker" though. According to Dept of Health and government guidelines, us social drinkers are actually "binge" drinking. I play darts on a Tuesday evening for my local club and probably drink 3, sometimes 4 pints during the evening. That puts me firmly in the binge drinking crowd. Strange then that I don't get the urge to stagger into the middle of the road when I leave. I'm not suddenly overcome with the urge to kick someone's head in and I don't urinate in shop doorways on the way home.
Very strange then,that the government would term me a "Binge Drinker" at all.

[big-all]

in all off my near 59 years i have been out off it in public perhaps 3 times well merry around several hundred time
apart from the compulsory "for sale notice javelin challenge" the "road repair sign wallpaper challenge"
and the "no parking hat competition "
i have never finished up in hospital in police custody or causing any trouble to anyone even after 12 pints

[kellys_eye]

NO LAWS re minimum alcohol pricing have yet been implemented and it's highly unlikely they ever will be. The NI Government tried to do the same with ciggies and the EU blocked it - same rules apply to ANY price-fixing..... it ain't allowed.

[ayjay]

NO LAWS re minimum alcohol pricing have yet been implemented and it's highly unlikely they ever will be. The NI Government tried to do the same with ciggies and the EU blocked it - same rules apply to ANY price-fixing..... it ain't allowed.

If they are determined to do it they will find a way, i.e. I'm sure it wouldn't be difficult to ramp up the duty/tax to cover what they want the minimum unit price to be.

I no longer consume enough to worry about it.

[kellys_eye]

Oh I agree fully - any means of raising taxation, especially when it's backed by a claim that it will 'save lives', will be pursued to its inevitability. The cynicism behind it all is 'wonderful'......