Maldon: Off licences could come under strain in new alcohol price plans (From Maldon and Burnham Standard)
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Maldon: Off licences could come under strain in new alcohol price plans
1:00pm Wednesday 5th December 2012 in Local News By Emma Robinson
Off licence owner, Mash Patel, is concerned about the new minimum alcohol price plans
Maldon off licences could face ruin as the Government announces minimum price plans for alchohol.
The Government plans to impose a minimum price of 45p per unit in a bid to stamp out the nation’s binge drinking.
The decision could mean an extra 70p on the price of some bottles of wine and an additional £1.30 on a two-litre bottle of cider, whilst also spelling the end for “buy one get one free” deals.
Off licence owner, Mash Patel, 42, who runs the Tolley Shop in Spital Road, Maldon fears the decision could affect the future of small businesses such as his.
He said: “It is a massive worry. We are such a small shop, we really depend on the price of alcohol."
See this week's MBS for the full story.
Comments(17)
paultheuver1
says...
5:52pm Wed 5 Dec 12
DontForgetToBreathe
says...
11:58am Thu 6 Dec 12
This has nothing to do with health and everything to do with lining the corporations pockets who in turn line the pockets of the government. Think of that the next time all the Tory sheep re-elect Whittingdale.
An alternative view
says...
1:49pm Thu 6 Dec 12
And...just think, to really rub it in, George Osborne and his evil brethren will only drink chateauneuf du pape, and that's already much more expensive than the minimum price you will have to pay for Strongbow!....they'r
e all laughing at you….can I borrow your tin foil hat please?
DontForgetToBreathe
says...
2:22pm Thu 6 Dec 12
An alternative view
says...
3:01pm Thu 6 Dec 12
DontForgetToBreathe
says...
3:12pm Thu 6 Dec 12
paultheuver1
says...
4:31pm Thu 6 Dec 12
Only a fool would deny that the Royal College of Physicians have long lobbied on the abuse of alcohol and it's affect on health, but they clearly state that price is just one factor along with availability and marketing, especially to young people.
Following the widespread media reporting of proposed minimum prices per unit, I'm yet to see similar mention of government addressing those other concerns of the Royal College of Physicians. Until then, only the most naive could believe that this is anything other than, a means of increasing the Treasury's coffers. The following is cut and pasted from: http://www.rcplondon
.ac.uk/policy/reduci
ng-health-harms/alco
hol
The Royal College of Physicians has a long history of raising awareness of the health damage caused by alcohol and has played a crucial role in the debate surrounding government alcohol policy since its first comments on the gin epidemic in 1725.
There is clear evidence that excessive alcohol consumption has a significant impact on individuals' long-term health. Alcohol is a factor in more than 40 serious medical conditions, including liver disease and cancer, and one of the major preventable causes of death in the UK. Alcohol misuse also places a huge burden on the NHS, with the number of hospital admissions due to alcohol consumption rising rapidly in the last ten years.
To tackle this rise in alcohol misuse, the RCP advocates for a coordinated, comprehensive and evidence-based approach to alcohol policy to:
reduce alcohol consumption across the population by addressing the price, availability and marketing of alcohol products, especially to young people
support high quality health services to ensure the early identification and effective treatment of patients with alcohol-related health problems.
Regbluebottle
says...
6:27pm Thu 6 Dec 12
What next? Raising the price of petrol because some people drive too fast?....oops, hope that Mr. Osborne doesn't read this!
An alternative view
says...
6:52pm Thu 6 Dec 12
...but as you mention it, if youth y on minimum wage can buy x litres of Cider for a Z pence, preload on it, get trolleyed on more out and about, end up in casualty / nick / someones daughter, then surely doing something about this is a good thing, in the long run saving NHS, Court or social security costs in the longer run?
If one lever to try is to ensure that a few pence is ramped up to a few quid, so be it.
What's your answer? I'm willing to take one for the metaphorical team, I wont whinge about it, I'll drink the same thing I did before, maybe it'll be more expensive, but the world is full of idiots who wont govern themselves, sometimes bad tories have to do bad things to the great unwashed, we went through the same forms of over governance and spun crap from the last lot, and now its all the tories fault?
And as for the motoring debate...don't get me started, its too cheap to get in a car and career around using finite resources and spewing crap out the back of a *car*...not road transport, different problem..., I'm no eco warrior, but I use my car less now than I did 10 years ago, would I have done this if the price of fuel was the same as back then...simple answer, No. Tories are a bunch of tools as they should have sent a message instead of pandering to the moaners who only want to complain about how much everything costs rather the measuring the cost of their inability to look at a bigger picture, they should have left the 3 pence fuel increase on, only then would attitudes and usage start to change more quickly, so I'm afraid, my view is somewhat "Einstienien"...only an idiot would suggest leaving things as they are will change peoples behaviour for the better, I don't profess to know if this will be the final solution, no one does, but bleating about a few pence a week and pointing at all-sorts of other things that could be done feels somewhat puerile
Finally, I feel one should ask if you are concerned about how much this is going to cost you a week, maybe you need to consider your habits?
paultheuver1
says...
11:07pm Thu 6 Dec 12
Despite an attempt to lead me off on a tangent, I stand by my argument that a price increase alone, does not help those with an alcohol problem, but it does the Exchequer.
I now read, "only an idiot would suggest leaving things as they are will change peoples behaviour for the better". This is surely the mutterings of someone who cannot back up their assertions. Also, no one but you (An alternative view), has suggested we do nothing about alcohol abuse. By all means increase the duty on alcohol, all I would like is some real evidence, that the revenue raised will be used to change behaviour.
Talk is cheap, very cheap when it comes from politicians. This country needs more people who are prepared to question what we are fed as true, otherwise we might as well be the sheep politicians want us to be. It's blind ignorance that allows the cynical to abuse worthy causes.
Jumping on to the bandwagon...if people had just blindly accept what politicians tell them, we would be paying the full VAT on domestic fuel...as was proposed by a Tory government.
Facts, not gainsay and blind faith, will help me take on an alternative view...
Computer-Ade
says...
11:43pm Thu 6 Dec 12
So the money ends up in the Treasury - well that Treasury (which belongs to the Country not the Exchequer) is in negative balance anyway, so it would make a slight dent in that negativity - which by the way is something we should be avoiding and not spreading.
It's all very well to shout down an idea, but it would be more positive to suggest a better one to replace it with.
paultheuver1
says...
4:03am Fri 7 Dec 12
To tackle this rise in alcohol misuse, the RCP advocates for a coordinated, comprehensive and evidence-based approach to alcohol policy to: reduce alcohol consumption across the population by addressing the price, availability and marketing of alcohol products, especially to young people
support high quality health services to ensure the early identification and effective treatment of patients with alcohol-related health problems.
In essence the medical experts advocate a coordinated and comprehensive approach....they mention price within their coordinated and comprehensive approach, to think otherwise is at the very least misguided.
My reasoning behind my original post on this subject, is that, most of us living in the real world know that those with dependencies aren't normally deterred by price. Statistics show that crimes like shoplifting and burglary are committed daily by drug users in order to pay for their habits. There's no reason to believe that the alcohol dependant will act any differently if alcohol prices increase and they no longer have sufficient funds to maintain their habit...
The trouble with this country is we have too many idealists and too few realists.
If we are serious about helping those adversely affected by alcohol, a reasonable start would be to ban all alcohol advertising. At the same time remove all the so called 'Alcopops' from sale.
Alcohol is far too widely available, through the many 'off-licence' outlets, We have to drastically reduce their number and the regulations need to be upgraded and strongly enforced, I would advocate that just a single breach of the regulations should mean the loss of the licence to sell alcohol and a substantial fine be imposed. Any retailer selling alcohol without a licence would be severely fined and if found to be a re-offender, have their right to operate as a general trader removed.
Licensed retailers link reordering to sales via their computers, even the smaller outlets have access to this system. Supermarkets through their loyalty cards record everything we buy and could easily flag a trend of excessive alcohol purchasing, and should act responsibly, as a publican has to when confronted with excess. Failure to do so could warrant a substantial fine and loss of licence..
The vast sums of money no longer used advertising alcohol along with any extra raised through fines, should be diverted in to education and treating dependency.
Of course being someone living in the real world, if my proposals were implement, the Treasury might well see a reduction in revenue form the sale of alcohol.
Please let us hear your ideas Computer-Ade......le
t's not hear talk of blindly giving to George Osborne, who is Chancellor of the Exchequer and Second Lord of the Treasury.
An alternative view
says...
8:42am Fri 7 Dec 12
Personal responsibility rather than blaming easy targets would help, I won't blame the govt for my kids coming home trolleyed when they're older, I wont blame saatchi and saatchi, I wont blame the fact that not enough of the things I "reckon" would have worked were done to stop this happening .... I'll blame me for not teaching them valuable life lessons, but perhaps if they don't have enough money in their purse to buy wasteful and destructive luxuries, maybe that'll make them think.....like me and my reduction in driving and fuel use, that's got nothing to do with Audi and BP stopping advertising, it's about it costing too much.
Computer-Ade
says...
10:56am Fri 7 Dec 12
Paul - you make many good points, but please don't spoil it with the politics. It doesn't matter who is in Government, the Chancellor doesn't own the Treasury - WE all do. Hiking the price of alcohol does not give him a chance to add a Tennis Court to his Mansion in the country.
Kids have always managed to get their hands on cider or fags when young, goodness knows I did - but when I was young it wasn't so cheap I could drink myself into oblivion and then walk into a moving car or chuck a rubbish bin through a shop window.
paultheuver1
says...
3:16pm Fri 7 Dec 12
Let me get straight what I said....RAISING THE PRICE OF ALCOHOL ALONE WILL PROFIT THE EXCHEQUER.
An alternative view...mentioned the Royal College of Physicians, whereupon I pointed out they are calling for a coordinated approach. Then persists in going off on various tangents.
Computer-Ade....Stat
es, "So the money ends up in the Treasury - well that Treasury (which belongs to the Country not the Exchequer) is in negative balance anyway, so it would make a slight dent in that negativity - which by the way is something we should be avoiding and not spreading." Which appears to endorse balancing the books at any cost. The very point I was indirectly making. I also pointed out that George Osborne was the Chancellor of the Exchequer and Second Lord of the Treasury to emphasise that he is the one in charge of the Exchequer/Treasury, so ownership is irrelevant.
Finally...I hope, My initial comment relates to a current situation and does not name a politician but a department. I would comment the same, regardless of who was at the helm, as I'm my own man and not constrained by political views or affiliations.
Others chose to go along the political naming route and yes, I did then comment on the introduction of VAT on domestic fuel by an earlier Conservative government, purely as an example to emphasise where blind acceptance could have taken us. Smoke and mirrors are the tool of the shady, to dupe the gullible. I asked for honesty, to date I've been accused of Tory bashing, ignoring the problem and blaming everyone but myself. All I've seen from those defending the increase is red herrings, nothing of substance. Such as the mention of tennis courts...come on, where did that come from.
As much as I like to debate, I see no reason to, if reason is ignored for the sake of ideology.
Computer-Ade
says...
6:08pm Fri 7 Dec 12
The Treasury needs money - lots of it.
Cheap booze is causing havoc with kids.
Answer - make cheap booze VERY expensive and put the extra money in the Treasurery.
No problem.
Computer-Ade says...
2:38pm Wed 5 Dec 12
The fact that leglislation even has to be brought in shows what a problem that cheap alcohol has caused over the years.