Scotland ends cheap booze as minimum price starts

[Northerner]

The price of cheap, high-strength alcohol has gone up in Scotland as long-awaited legislation on minimum pricing comes into force.

The law, which sets a floor price for drinks depending on how many units of alcohol they contain, was passed in 2012 but has faced legal challenges.

The Scottish government said the move would cut consumption and save lives.

High-strength white cider and cheap own-brand vodka and whisky will see the biggest rise in prices.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-43948081

An excellent move, rest of UK should now follow suit 🙂

 

[kentish maid]

The cynic in me says that while it is an excellent move sadly some people will still buy the alcohol and possibly go without food or heating to pay for it

 

[kentish maid]

Ever the pessimist - at a time when there has been talk of decriminalising drugs to reduce the crime rate, surely increasing the cost of alcohol could in fact lead to more crime, as folk try to finance their alcohol habit? Same applies to the ever increasing cost of cigarettes.

 

[mikeyB]

No, that won’t happen. People will just get on with it. Fortunately, it’s not a tax, so folk won’t be grumpy at the government. There isn’t such a big rise in spirits, and a bottle of the legendary Buckfast (wreck the hoose juice) stays the same price. It’s not the alcohol in Buckie, it’s the high levels of caffeine that do your brain in. And it tastes horrible.