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Johnstone's View 26th February 2010

This week, the Scottish Parliament’s Health and Sport Committee took evidence on the SNP’s  proposed Alcohol Bill.

Only the day before, the NHS released statistical data which showed that on average, 115 hospital discharges take place per day due to alcohol misuse, having increased by nine per cent over the past five years.

The figures also show that our rate of chronic liver disease has almost trebled over the past fifteen years, and continues to rise.

Those under forty years of age appear to be at greatest risk with an almost five fold increase in chronic liver disease mortality rates in those aged between 30 – 39 years old.

Among younger drinkers, the statistics are even worse, with incidences of liver disease up 500% for people in their 30s and increasing seven-fold since 1990 for women in their 20s.

The figures show that the number of people treated for alcohol-related problems has increased by nearly 10% in the last five years.

No-one would deny Scotland has a harmful relationship with alcohol, and the Scottish Government describes its proposed bill as ‘decisive’ and ‘radical’.

Personally, I’m not so sure.  In general, the proposals consist of introducing a minimum price per unit of alcohol, restricting off-sale promotions, and age verification policy for licensees, giving licensing boards the power to raise the purchase age to 21 and implementing a social responsibility levy.

The Scottish Government appear to suggest that minimum pricing is the ‘cure all’ for alcohol abuse. Personally, I’m far from convinced.

With the inevitability of night following day, the SNP lambaste the Labour Government every time duty on whisky is increased, and yet we now know that the SNP’s plans may well push up the cost of whisky which could threaten north east jobs.  To add insult to injury, a popular brand of tonic wine that was drunk by 43% of young men jailed for drink related offences will see no increase in price under minimum pricing scheme.

As some people have blamed the caffeine that strong tonic wine contains, Labour have suggested limiting the amount of caffeine allowed in alcoholic drinks, which completely ignores the fact that vodka, served with so called ‘energy drinks’ instead of traditional mixers, remain popular with many young people in bars.  It is worth noting that a number of the offenders interviewed believed the caffeine in fortified tonic wines made them “hyper” and “aggressive”.

In its submission to the Scottish Government consultation on the Alcohol Bill, Aberdeenshire Licensing Board stated that it “does not agree that establishing minimum prices will alleviate the problems faced by the minority section of our society who are heavy drinkers or persons that are addicted to alcohol.  Such persons will purchase alcohol, regardless of the price, because their need for alcohol outweighs the cost of alcohol.”

I agree entirely with the Aberdeenshire Licensing Board’s view.  The reality of this means that those problem drinkers who are on a modest income, may well sacrifice other aspects of the household budget to pay for drink.  This could see less money spent on food or clothes for the family.

The real irony of minimum pricing is of course that the Scottish Health Survey of 2008 showed that it was those in the highest income groups who were more likely to exceed the guideline limits.

Another aspect of the bill is to increase the purchasing age to 21.  This has turned into another fudge by the SNP who, in the face of opposition to the move, now seek to delegate the power to raise the purchase age to local licensing boards.

This of course would lead to some truly bizarre scenarios.  A young person could vote, get married, see active service in Afghanistan, but could be banned from buying a couple of cans of beer or a bottle of wine.

Personally, I believe that instead of indulging in blanket measures that penalise everyone, especially those on low incomes such as pensioners, the Scottish Government should target problem drinks and problem drinkers.  Our relationship with alcohol is a complex one and requires a complex solution.  Simplistic, and arguably draconian legislative responses are not the answer.

We already have a set of very robust licensing laws, that can see licensees jailed or given substantial fines for selling drink to someone who is either underage or who is already drunk, and  we have laws that deal with those who are drunk and incapable.  It would perhaps be a sensible first step to ensure that that those caught for alcohol related crimes are given punishments that reflect the impact that their actions have on the wider community.