Leader: SNP's plan for a minimum price on alcohol is flawed

Published on Thursday 2 September 2010 14:57

The Scottish Government's declaration of its plans to impose a minimum price per unit for alcohol of 45p perfectly demonstrates the tendency of politicians identifying a problem - in this case Scotland's obvious problems in relation to drink - but coming up with a policy which fails to provide a solution to that problem.

It is true the minimum tariff mechanism will result in the price of various cheap brands of beer, cider and spirits increasing, but the extra income - 236 million by one estimate - from this will only go to the supermarkets who use such products as loss leaders. On top of this there is little evidence it will have the effect intended of cutting down the consumption of problem drinkers.

Yesterday health minister Nicola Sturgeon claimed that the policy would reduce Scotland's alcohol-linked death toll by as much as 50 a year, as well as leading to 1,200 fewer drink-related hospital admissions and produce a 5.5 million reduction in health care costs - figures she appeared to have plucked out of thin air or worked out on the back of an envelope.

Such evidence as there is shows this measure will have little impact. The Centre for Economics and Business Research, for example, says the 45p per alcohol unit plan would reduce alcohol consumption levels among problem drinkers by only 2.7 units a week, less than the strength of one pint of strong beer.

Furthermore, representatives of the alcohol industry maintain the policy would punish those on low incomes. Of course the drinks industry is a vested interest, but its claim has the ring of truth about it as there is ample evidence that ordinary people, often on modest incomes, do like a drink but use alcohol responsibly. There is no reason they should be targeted so unfairly.

Finally, there is the potential impact on business. The Scotch Whisky Association is also a vested interest, but it represents one of Scotland's most successful industries and when it claims the measure fails to meet European Union law and would significantly damage Scotch whisky at home and abroad ministers - particularly Nationalist ministers - should take heed.

In these columns we have never argued Scotland should ignore its difficulties with alcohol which, when used excessively, can lead both to damage to health and contribute to crime, particularly violent crime, but we have also questioned on many occasions the efficacy of the Scottish Government's position.

Yesterday's declaration on the price, coming as it did after two years of waiting, left us more convinced than ever that, though it was conceived for the right reasons, this policy is simply wrong. The opposition parties at Holyrood seem set to vote it down, but the Scottish Government could save them the trouble by abandoning this ill-thought-through initiative now.