The Scottish Government’s plans to introduce a minimum price on alcoholic drinks have been defeated at Holyrood, writes Ewan Turney.
The Scottish Conservatives laid an amendment to remove "indiscriminate blanket minimum pricing" of 45p a unit from the Alcohol Bill — which was passed by five votes to three by the Health Committee.
That is despite a promise of a “sunset clause” being introduced to force a review of the policy in six years by the Scottish National Party (SNP).
However, the SNP said it would table another amendment to re-introduce minimum pricing at the third stage of the process.
The SNP had argued that a minimum price of 45p would mean 1,200 fewer hospital admissions, a £5.5m fall in health care costs, 50 fewer deaths and nearly 23,000 fewer days absent from work in the first year.
Mary Scanlon, Scottish Conservative Health spokesperson and a member of the Health Committee, said: “There is simply no political support for the SNP’s blanket minimum pricing.
“These plans would penalise responsible drinkers, harm the Scotch whisky industry, cost jobs and is probably illegal.
“As the Scottish Conservatives have consistently said, alongside banning below cost price sales, the most effective method is to target problem drinks with extra tax and duty on a UK wide basis.
“This avoids responsible drinkers being penalised, would be more effective at reducing consumption, stop any notion of booze cruises to Carlisle or Berwick and mean that any extra revenue goes to the taxpayer."
Unsurprisingly, the drinks producers have welcomed the move.
Kristine Wolfe, head of alcohol policy at SAB Miller, said that the Scottish had discovered, “that quick solutions, like minimum pricing, to alcohol abuse simply do not exist.”
She added: “There will always be some people who push the limits beyond what is healthy for them and acceptable to society.
"Balanced information about alcohol, societal intolerance of drunken or anti-social behaviour, law enforcement and where needed, professional help, are the best routes to success."
