Labour drinks ban to target Buckfast wine

Published on Saturday 6 February 2010 19:34

A BAN on Buckfast, the controversial tonic wine blamed for violent behaviour, is being proposed by Labour as part of plans to tackle Scotland's troubled relationship with drink.

The party's new Alcohol Commission, due to be launched tomorrow, will consider following the lead of some European countries by imposing a legal limit of 150 milligrams of caffeine per litre of alcohol.

The tonic wine, which contains 15 per cent alcohol and is made by Benedictine Catholic monks at Buckfast Abbey in Devon, has a caffeine level of 375 mg/l, putting it way above the limit. Its manufacturers would either have to cut caffeine content or face a legal ban under the new proposals.

The commission will also look at what can be done to tackle mixers with a high caffeine content. Alcoholic spirits are often mixed with drinks such as Red Bull (320 mg/l) and Red Square Reloaded (420 mg/l).

Scientific research has linked the consumption of high levels of alcohol and caffeine contained in drinks like Buckfast with erratic and risk-taking behaviour.

The Commission, chaired by Professor Sally Brown of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, has been charged with finding a way of imposing a limit that would effectively prevent the sale of ready-mix drinks with a high caffeine level.

If the plans were adopted, Scotland would follow the example of Denmark, Iceland and Norway who have all imposed a legal caffeine limit of 150 mg/l in alcoholic drinks.

Labour has established the commission, to come up with an alternative to the SNP's plans to place a minimum price on units of alcohol.

The Conservatives have said they will study the proposal, raising Labour hopes that their "ban Buckie" approach may secure parliamentary support.

"I believe that the risks involved in consuming caffeinated alcohol are so great that the Scottish Government must take action," said Jackie Baillie, Labour's health spokeswoman.

"The research suggests that you are more likely to end up in hospital or be assaulted if you drink these products. This is not just about Buckfast, but we need to do something about it."

In the US, the Food and Drink Administration has announced that it is considering a similar ban on caffeinated alcoholic drinks.

Earlier this year, Strathclyde Police revealed Buckfast was mentioned in 5,638 crime reports in their area between 2006 and 2009 – an average of three crimes per day. One in ten of those offences was violent and the bottle was used as a weapon 114 times in that period.

US scientists have raised concerns about mixing caffeinated and alcoholic drinks, warning that being simultaneously "wide awake and drunk" increased the risk of violence, injury or becoming involved in dangerous sexual situations.

Richard Simpson, the Labour MSP and former psychiatrist, said: "It is a fact that research has shown that mixture of a stimulant (caffeine] and a depressant (alcohol] leads to a chaotic situation, which means there is a much greater risk of engaging in violent behaviour."

But the Lib Dems Justice spokesman Robert Brown dismissed the proposal as "publicity stunt politics".

Jim Wilson of J Chandler & Co, the Buckfast distributor, has disputed Labour's claims, saying there is no evidence to suggest that health incidents had been linked to the drink.

Wilson accused Labour of "scaremongering" but said he would be happy to give evidence to the Commission provided "it's going to be constructive and they're not playing party politics".

The SNP health secretary Nicola Sturgeon said establishing the Commission was a "blatant disregard" for parliament and described it as a "hand-picked talking shop designed to delay and distract".