'Wine, supermarkets and British alcohol policy'

A paper has been released by the History & Policy body exploring Wine, supermarkets and British alcohol policy. It explores the current alcohol policy context and parallels with history.

The paper in particular explores the focus of recent public debate and policy on public and on-trade consumption, in its conclusion asking whether 'a greater policy focus on domestic consumption would better reflect the balance of risks posed by alcohol today'.

Excerpts from the executive summary include:

• Recent concerns over cheap drink have led to a policy debate on minimum unit pricing and the banning of the 'below-cost' sale of alcohol
• A dramatic increase in wine drinking has contributed significantly to the marked rise in per capita consumption of alcohol over the last forty years
• Supermarkets and off-licenses have played a pivotal role in the expansion of domestic wine drinking in the UK
• Parallels between current public alcohol policy debates and that taking place in 1860 such as pricing, the roles of the drinks and licensing industries, British drinking culture and on and off-trade tensions
• Policy discussions tend to dwell on the negative impacts of public drinking; a more critical focus on domestic drinking may be appropriate in future

The paper was authored by James Nicholls, a Senior Lecturer in the School of Humanities and Cultural Industries at Bath Spa University and author of 'The Politics of Alcohol: A History of the Drink Question in England' (Manchester University Press, 2009).

Comments

[Tom Godwin - Personal Trainer Manchester]

I think the movement to implement a minimum cost per unit on alcohol is an interesting one. I am not sure how effective it will be in terms of encouraging healthier use of alcohol.

Personally i feel that a better move would be to impose a higher tax rate on alcohol to reflect increased costs to the NHS and also improve levels of education. This has worked well with reducing the numbers of smokers.

TOM