Crackdown on cheap alcohol may lead to increase in drinking, experts claim

Published on Tuesday 16 March 2010 22:03

SNP plans for a crackdown on cheap drink could lead to more alcohol being consumed in Scotland, and may even break existing laws banning irresponsible promotions, legal experts will warn today.

In evidence to MSPs, the Law Society of Scotland and the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) will say that several unintended consequences will be triggered by the legislation if it goes ahead.

SNP ministers have said they want to introduce a minimum price of 40p per unit on all drink, and outlaw offers on bulk purchases, such as buy-one-get-one-free deals. But the plans have failed to win opposition party support, amid criticism they will punish the majority of responsible drinkers and fail to target the problem properly.

In evidence to be presented this morning, the Law Society of Scotland will place doubts over moves to prevent deals such as "three for two". It also points out that such moves may end up encouraging people to buy more drink than they do at present.

The Alcohol Bill tabled by ministers says that if an off-licence or supermarket is selling a bottle of wine for 5, it cannot sell three for less than 15. This was designed to prevent deals such as "three bottles for 10". But the Law Society says retailers may react to this by simply withdrawing sales of individual cans or bottles.

Under the act, the Law Society says they could then still offer relatively cheap bulk-buy deals, so long as they were above the 40p minimum price limit.

In a submission to Holyrood's health committee, which is studying the bill, the society declares: "This may, conversely, encourage a person to buy a larger measure of alcohol than the person had otherwise intended to buy and may be considered an irresponsible drinks promotion."

Meanwhile, the OFT, which is also giving evidence today, says a further unintended consequence of the act could be that drink will be more heavily marketed by stores. Previous research has shown that a minimum price on alcohol will actually increase the profits of the drink industry by pumping up its cost to consumers. The OFT warns that this will "increase the incentives for retailers to sell more alcohol".

The OFT declares: "There might inadvertently be an increase in alcohol sales because the effect of increased marketing outweighs the effect of the price increase."

Gavin Partington, spokesman for the Wine and Spirit Trade Association, said: "Intervention in the commercial market place can often result in unforeseen consequences. Businesses try to plan ahead on the basis of legislative proposals, but until the law is actually in place, it's difficult to know exactly what all the consequences will be."

Yesterday, ministers were told they should focus on implementing existing laws more rigorously. In a letter to the Liberal Democrats, justice secretary Kenny MacAskill said just three people had been prosecuted in the past two years for selling alcohol to somebody who was already drunk. This has been an offence since 2007.

Lib Dem justice spokesman Robert Brown said: "The government wants us to support a new raft of alcohol laws, but these figures show our existing laws aren't being enforced. Just imagine how many Friday and Saturday night punch-ups could have been avoided if the pub owner had stopped selling to people who had already had enough to drink."

Health secretary Nicola Sturgeon said: "Minimum pricing is designed to stop the sale of strong alcohol at rock-bottom prices. I don't believe a man should be able to exceed the sensible drinking guidelines for less than 3.50."