Is the cost of alcohol to cheap?

Question

Another alcohol fueled death in the news. Is it not time to increase the cost of alcohol, ban alcopops, reduce the alcohol content in spirits.
Two for one offers and all day boozing is it time to call last orders?
Having spent time in Norway,Sweeden and Denmark where alcohol is very expensive I never noticed the problems we have in the UK.

Answer 1

I've been thinking about this a lot, since it came on the news this morning. We have a problemwith kids drinking in our town. i'm not sure that the price would affect it. One thing that does have to be stopped are the adults who buy the children alcohol - the kids persuade their older "friends" or even other customers to buy alcohol for them. And of course, there is the stealing.

I'd like to see alcohol being banned from sale at corner shops. And chldren having something else to do, besides get drunk - as my 15 year old says, a lot of it is just acting. But not all - I know of two children who have been hospitalised because of it.

Doesn't our society stink? When all kids have to look up to are the drunken yobs that fill our streets? But then, we, as a society, glamorise drunkenness.

Answer 2

No, it's not. Alcohol may well be cheap in shops etc., however this is a haven for us responsible adults who enjoy a drink but can't afford to go out all night due to the price of it in pubs/clubs etc. and so stay in with friends instead.

Yes the banning of alcopops is a good idea, anyone who argues that they're not attractive to under age drinkers is being naive.

Punishing the responsible by increasing prices in order to try and prevent kids getting drunk and commiting crimes is unfair and unlikely to work. Personally I think the best idea is to increase the legal drinking age to 21, and have far harsher punishments for those who sell to or buy alcohol for the under age.

As a further thought, there are many drinks out there that contain substances other than alcohol which seem to promote violent behaviour in people. This isn't scientifically proven, but I know a few people who steer clear of certain drinks because it makes them aggressive (there's a reason why Stella Artois is known as 'wife beater'). This should definitely be looked into.

Answer 3

Yes, I think you have a point. I would however, stop short at blaming all the UKs violence and anti-social behaviour on alcohol. The overt targeting of teenagers with alcopops (which is what we used to call my grandfather!) is a quick win for the breweries. They certainly do not help kids behave themselves, but it is the society we've fostered and almost nurtured that is ultimately responsible.



I hate shows like Trish and Jerry Springer, but it was Jeremy Kyle who said that the problems experienced today is a direct result of kids having kids. It's now socially acceptable to expect the government to subsidise lifestyle choices that do not include working for aliving. And figures show that it is this element of society that is responsible for the majority of the violence on the streets of London and other major UK cities.



Perhaps we should actually make alcholoc drinks much stronger - that way those who do bring alcohol fuelled violence into our society might die from siroccos of the liver quicker.

Answer 4

The pricing in pubs and clubs is not the issue here, as they are generally expensive. As someone has mentioned, it is the supermarkets which sell alcohol for a very low price.



However, I don't think that raising the price will solve the problem. Teenagers will always find a way round it, either stealing or brewing their own.



A greater danger in society is the gang culture, where big groups of ten or more congregate.



I often think that the parents are not taking their responibilities seriously enough.

Answer 5

Probably.



How much money is spent in this country every year dealing with alcohol related problems? From the NHS having to deal with boozed up fighting, to the legal system having to deal with drunk drivers etc? Yet no one seems to be calling for an alcohol ban, do they? I think that raising the prices certainly can't do much harm.

Answer 6

I live in Spain. I get a good Rioja wine for the equavalent of £1 a bottle. The other day I bought a bottle of gin & a bottle of Vodka for the equivalent of £5 for the two bottles.

You can be in a bar here all day and all night if you want but the alcohol abuse rates are less than the UK, so where does that leave your argument.



Edit; I've had less than a bottle of wine in the past 17 days.

Answer 7

I think its too expensive adding tax to it is only going to be another stealth tax. You won't stop kids getting smokes drink or drugs in fact the more you push the rules on it the more the thrill will be the way to go is to teach kids in school alot more about the deaths it causes and liver cancer e.c.t I don't think for one moment we want to push the rules anymore i feel like in 10 years time i'm gonna be living in a big brother state with orders of exactly what to eat and exercise i have to do each day i'm all for free will if lives weren't so much hell that we'd want to drown them away then we wouldn't drink so much the problems lie in making life less stress ful and all trying to strive to be perfect people with perfect families promoting the importance of family and freinds rather than material assests another price rise isn't going to change all that now is it!

Answer 8

Yes of course it is too cheap, lets treble the price, make it even more difficult to buy duty free and bring it back and why not put the price up of all foods with an ounce of fat or more in them whilst we are at it? (I am being sarcastic by the way incase you didn't realise)



Geesh!!!! If everyone stopped eating, drinking, smoking, doing things that a few narrow minded people think will kill us then we might as well curl up in a ball and die anyway! Lifes too bloody short, lets at least save a few pennies whilst we are making ourselves unhealthy eh? Whats wrong with doing things in moderation? Dont make the minority of idiots in the country spoil it for everyone else who is more sensible. If alcohol and the like were cheaper then perhaps people could drink in moderation every day instead of getting ratarsed on a Friday and Saturday night by binge drinking, how about that?

Answer 9

I think the binge drinking trend comes from poor education on alcohol and this societies view of it.



Raising the cost of alcohol would not, IMO, reduce the problems. The whole culture of drinking needs to change and that means education from a young age.

Answer 10

It's cheaper in most other country's with no problem. So they blame fights on a Saturday night in town on cheap booze! Have they ever bought a pint in town, you cannot say that cheap. Scandinavia have a big problem with poising from home made vodka, and drink driving.

Answer 11

We always hear about bars/pubs/clubs selling supposedly too cheap drinks (though I'd love to know where these places are exactly!), but actually kids don't get their drinks in pubs, clubs or bars - they get them from supermarkets.



My local Tesco and Asda sell litre bottles of cider from 0.99p, bottles of wine from £3.00, and tins of brand own lager from 0.50p a tin!!



Kids don't go into pubs and buy drinks, they or their parents go into supermarkets instead because that's the cheapest place to get alcohol.



I am a responsible adult and it annoys me when Parliment says that pubs and clubs should face further taxes because of underage and binge drinking when it's actually the supermarkets that are fuelling the flames.



But, of course, supermarkets are so powerful that no one wants to take them on...

Answer 12

its the A-holes in the cornershops selling drink to kids who are causing the problem & not the drink itself.



fines for doing this should be vastly increased.



Also the pub trade needs to stop relying so heavily on teens and underage drinkers & to try to bring adults back in.



so many pubs round here just cater for what looks like the 14- 18 year old market, so that most people like my age won't go near them.

Answer 13

Here in the US, raising the taxes on tobacco and alcohol will just make bootlegging a lot more profitable for organized crime. We spend more on law enforcement than the amount raised in the additional taxes.

Answer 14

prices high enough but if proper education and police were given better powers to help alcoholics not just arrest them and take them to court along the lines of humiliation is better than prison or anything else hit people where it hurts the ego

Answer 15

That sucks..raise prices on the working man for other peoples bad choices?? No.



Raise your kids better or if you don't wanna die an "alcohol fueled death" don't drink..its your choice..but by all means give them a chance to choose..don't take the poor mans only happiness(drinkin) away *hic*

Answer 16

your totally mad.

i love my beer (Stella)

i go to the pub most nights about 5ish when happy hour is on and the drinks are half price.

i,ll have anywhere between 4-10 pints of stella and a couple of test tubes of something called jagermeister which is 33%(yummy stuff).

then ride my bike home about 8-9 ish.

the only problems i have is trying to keep my bike in a straight line.

Answer 17

NO



And in Scandinavia..they get off their trolleys on the W/E

Answer 18

What? are you joking? i take it you don't socialize much. Raising the Price isn't fair to others who don't drink to much and cause fights etc. Why should we suffer for other people not being able to handle their drink?

Answer 19

no! it's a great way of riding the streets of these useless cretings

Answer 20

it is too expensive...