Last Friday, the UK Government released its new Alcohol Strategy. It outlined plans to more strictly regulate late-night alcohol retail while signalling to the drinks industry that it should do more to tackle excessive consumption through voluntary agreements. However, it’s headline-grabbing provision was the introduction of minimum unit pricing to tackle binge drinking.
As I’ve argued elsewhere, minimum unit pricing represents a step change in policy approaches to alcohol by reframing it as ‘no ordinary commodity’. Champagne corks must be popping at the headquarters of the many alcohol health organisations who have long campaigned for just such a shift. Or perhaps not. Maybe they went for the Perrier … with a twist of lemon. Just this once. > > > > Read More
