Reply to: The pubs are not closing fast enough so more drastic measures are needed

[BrilloPad]

I wonder if anyone at HMG has thought about why people drink? I mean if life in this god forsaken country wasn’t so bloody miserable and expensive then just maybe people wouldn’t feel the need to find an ‘escape’?

Cannabis is still cheap and freely available, maybe people who can no longer afford a few well earned tinnies should just switch to that?

I suspect if HMG are reading this then their conclusion is to tax cannabis....

[Gonzo]

I suspect this is another one of those flying a kite exercises. Leak an idea to the press over the weekend to gather reaction and disown it on Monday if it went down badly.

I suspect you are right on that, I feel so used.

Since there are a couple of responses that aren't completely anti then expect it to be government policy before too long.

[gingerjedi]

I wonder if anyone at HMG has thought about why people drink? I mean if life in this god forsaken country wasn’t so bloody miserable and expensive then just maybe people wouldn’t feel the need to find an ‘escape’?

Cannabis is still cheap and freely available, maybe people who can no longer afford a few well earned tinnies should just switch to that?

[HairyArsedBloke]

I suspect this is another one of those flying a kite exercises. Leak an idea to the press over the weekend to gather reaction and disown it on Monday if it went down badly.

Yes, it's all about revenue not health.

[Cyberman]

If they were serious about health, HMG would offer tax relief on health club memberships. They are not serious at all and this is just another stealth tax to attempt to fill their black hole of waste.

[dang65]

I'm looking forward to the simultaneous enormous tax reductions on smoothies, yoghurts, salads, organic chicken, vegetables... all those things which greatly improve public health and reduce the burden on the NHS.

Although I haven't actually seen this being mentioned anywhere.

I guess they must have accidentally left it out of the news reports.

[Flashman]

In other words, a skint Government will con money out of us any way it can under the pretence of being for our own good.

I could see this coming as soon as reports started appearing from 'health experts' that concluded that alcohol was too cheap. The spin machine was softening us up for a tax raid on booze. Plant subliminal messages in everyone's mind that alcohol was too cheap and eventually they start to believe it

Good points Shinamo.

Minimum price imposition is actually illegal under EU law as it 'distorts trade'

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/glo...fset=12&page=2

So expect tax increases on alcohol in the near future as 'the next best option'.

Either way if booze gets too expensive the kids will just turn to (more) drugs.

[Fred Bloggs]

Countries that tried state control of alcohol have experienced huge volumes of illicit brewing going on. Exactly the same will happen here. I've seen it where guys get pissed at home on home brew before they go out!

[Sysman]

It is lame, and poorly thought out. The amount of home-brew produced if such measures were introduced would go through the roof.

New Plan B: Violin cases. Sorted.

[MrMark]

So far as I can see, setting a minimum price (50p per unit?) will only affect the cheap deals in supermarkets. Most pubs sell over-priced beer etc (eg £3 a pint), so if anything this measure will help to decrease the gap. Of course Wetherspoons will have to play this carefully. The problem is there have been too many traditional pubs forced to close already. It's not just the smoking ban and high prices at fault here; people's lifestyles have changed, plus the breweries' greed in creating disco-type environment and "style-bars" has disenfranchised the older section of the population who once would have popped down to town for a jar or two.

[expat]

WHS.

A few years ago I predicted that Labour would one day introduce consumption entitlement cards (or some such BS name), in effect to ration what you could buy for personal consumption such as alcohol, baccy (if that isn't banned by then), fatty or salty foods etc. It sounded ridiculous at the time, even to me. But now it seems a step closer.

Anyone who thinks it will stop here is crazy.

Carbon Footprint is a great one, that will justify all sorts of rationing. Rationing by taxation, of course.

So far, on the alcohol, ISTM that Tesco will just put up the price rather than pay more tax/duty; but sooner or later HMG will see this as an opportunity missed.

Either way, it's a tax on the poor, as usual.

[HairyArsedBloke]

From my observations, those that binge drink do so in the bars that are specifically designed to attract the younger element and they charge premium prices. Putting up prices will never effect those who binge drink and will only make life harder for everyone else.

[OwlHoot]

.. I object to the idea that the state should even attempt to regulate anyone's alcohol consumption. Why not regulate fast-food consumption while they're at it. And cake and biscuit consumption. And red meat consumption. And dairy consumption. Need I go on? ..

WHS.

A few years ago I predicted that Labour would one day introduce consumption entitlement cards (or some such BS name), in effect to ration what you could buy for personal consumption such as alcohol, baccy (if that isn't banned by then), fatty or salty foods etc. It sounded ridiculous at the time, even to me. But now it seems a step closer.

What mostly drives all this incessant meddling is state funding for the NHS - Once the Government gets involved in one thing, that leads to another if only to limit what is spent on the first. It's like pulling the wool out of a jumper. Where does it all end? The only solution is to privatise the NHS, and abolish incapacity benefits (Just have a flat rate welfare, or preferably abolish that too.)

[Gonzo]

<snip> (Bit of a bugger though because I drink quite a lot) but if measures like this mean less crime, burden on health care and improved quality or perception of quality of life then it's a good thing.

How much crime are you responsible for and how much would a reduction in your drinking reduce it by? None I suspect, which is mostly my point.

As proportion of current production you "may" be right although it seems unlikely. As a proportion of total alcohol consumed, home-brew is and will remain incredibly small. Surely you don't think the opposite is true?

Whether it is home-brew, drugs or glue, those with lower resources will find something to take the place of the alcohol that they can no longer afford.

In the process of "solving one problem by creating a whole new one" we will be condemning the tradtional pub to history (as the smoking ban is already starting to do), and that bothers me.

[Shimano105]

Well they don't want us to stop drinking really.

They started taxing motorists heavily because they wanted to meet carbon targets and improve the environment by getting everyone on public transport. Great.

Except as soon as luxury car companies started to struggle (which you would expect with such measures surely?) they panicked and started bailing them out!

So, a cynical person might conclude that really they are only after your money and your votes.