Drink suppliers must help deliver us from evil of alcohol abuse

Published on Friday 4 December 2009 22:10

SCOTLAND'S alcohol problem is easy to describe. Our cities and towns are becoming drink-laden pits most weekend evenings. The misery arising from over-consumption of alcohol brings in its wake violence, debt, broken families, angry neighbourhoods and weakened and ruined health. And on top of that there's a huge bill for environmental services, policing, social work budgets and rising costs for both acute and chronic health and welfare provision.

But the problem, if simple to describe, isn't easy to resolve. Until quite recently I was all in favour of minimum pricing of alcohol. It seemed so simple – price the stuff out of people's reach and the problem's fixed. But would it work? I'm not convinced that this is the best or most effective solution to a complex problem.

If it was only Scotland that introduced minimum pricing, then major supermarket chains would likely set up their retail and distribution hub in Carlisle and haulage the liquor into Scotland from there. What's more, every white van in the Central Belt and from both coasts would booze-cruise their way to England and back, full to bursting, and then sell in car parks out of sight from any prying and spying CCTV.

And even if minimum pricing were UK-wide, a retail hub in the Republic of Ireland serving distribution networks elsewhere would be set up even before the ink on Holyrood's minimum pricing bill was dry.

That said, there needs to be some attention to pricing. I therefore support the Scottish Licensed Trade Association's argument to see the loophole being closed which gives the big supermarket chains an enviable VAT refund on alcohol when sold as a loss leader. Such a change would benefit the local shopkeeper and community publican, as well as challenge supermarkets that seek to corner every market they can without regard to the social consequences.

Buckfast Tonic Wine has a very high caffeine content. When too much is drunk, the effect can cause a high level of over-excited anger. The combination of alcohol with caffeine stimulant is a powerful cocktail, and in the case of Buckfast is a major factor behind many a violent scene in Scotland's towns and cities.

What saddens me is that Buckfast is made in a Christian monastery in Devon. Buckfast's quite exquisite website, which pictures a monk at work with test tubes, says "it continues to be made at Buckfast Abbey along the same lines and according to the same basic recipe as used in the very early days… In order to broaden its appeal the tonic was changed slightly from a rather severe patent medicine to a smoother, more mature medicated wine".

I've tried to get an explanation from those who market Buckfast tonic wine to see how much profit goes back into the monastery, whether through a limited company or trust. Moreover, I wonder how many of the monks serve on the board (or whatever set-up they have) for the manufacture, marketing and distribution. Can the abbey honestly justify any profit it might gather from this violent potion to promote the Christian message? Surely not.

It saddens me more than I can say that a Christian organisation is supporting a product that contributes to the misery to our nation. I very much doubt if St Benedict, the founder of the monastic rule of life to which the monks of Buckfast Abbey are committed, would approve.

Alcohol misuse and abuse isn't only an individual problem to be solved. It is a social problem and involves all of us. Christian-based drinks organisations and the big-monied secular ones must no longer lead us into temptation but help deliver us from the evil that is alcohol abuse.

&#149 The Rt Rev Dr Robert Gillies is Bishop of Aberdeen and Orkney.