Dave — I agree with pretty much everything Pete Brown writes. The responsible publican shouldn’t be the target of yet more legislation. The points Pete makes on children and also supermarkets are spot on! However (I repeat) it only takes a few irresponsible venues or off-licenses plus cut-price supermarket deals for problems to start gathering pace. Pete also doesn’t address how easy it is for new licenses to be granted under the new act which creates very dense areas of licensed trade.

Dan — I think the minimum unit price for alcohol is certainly attractive to me. There are issues about how to make sure it doesn’t just end up as additional brewer or supermarket profit but these are surmountable.

Green Party policy would like to see higher taxes on alcohol producers and also the option of smaller measures being available (not mandatory smaller measures).

What I’d like to understand better is why some people are drinking so much… there’s a wider social context here that we need to understand and address.

http://petebrown.blogspot.com/search/label/answering%20the%20neo-prohibitionists

Does it mean fewer licensed (on and off) premises locally?

An end to 24hr and late night opening for offys, clubs and pubs?

Making loss-leading booze offers in supermarkets illegal?

Repeal of the 2003 Act?

Personally, I favour a minimum unit price on booze. It’s crazy that I can go to the local shop and buy my weekly recommended consumption in the form (say) of strong cider in the bottle and often for less than a fiver.

You’re right: where cigarettes have escalated, drink has become cheaper and that’s incongruous.

Equally, I’m passionate about pubs and a frequent user of them. They are important to any community. I want to see a situation where pubs can responsibly flourish sociably as part of their neighbourhood (I’d even look at incentives and tax cuts there, esp for real ale) But we do need to think about cheap booze from supermarkets and offys and take some stiff action.