Thursday 7 January 2010

MINIMUM PRICE FOR ALCOHOL WON'T WORK

as a convinced free marketeer - I'm against minimum pricing on anything.
(I'm enjoying a glass of Tesco Value Mineral Water as I write this - 10 pence for 2 litres!)
But I have other reasons for opposing this well-meaning proposal.

For the last forty years, the price of cigarettes has crept upwards - it now costs nearly £6 to enjoy a packet of 20 deathsticks.
Is that why so many people successfully quit every year?
NO.
Higher cost on its own is never going to stop a smoker lighting up. They may "cut down" for a while; but not give up because it's too expensive.

Smokers generally beat their addiction, because knowledge of associated health risks tip the balance for them.
For the last twenty-plus years, schools in the maintained sector have routinely educated children about the links between lung cancer, heart disease and smoking.
Whether or not people choose to use it for their benefit, they have the knowledge to make the right choice.

This is what we need to do with alcohol.
We need to educate right from the beginning about the real cost of alcohol.
The devastating social costs as well as horrendous health issues.
That is how we'll tackle this problem.

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