By how much would they need to up the price of booze to make you drink less?
Personally I don't see this idea making a scrap of difference to those who "abuse" alcohol.
Setting a minimum price of 50p per unit would save around 2,900 lives a year after 10 years, according to research from Sheffield University.
Public health experts, including Sir Liam Donaldson, the Chief Medical Officer, have called for a minimum price to be set.
But the Government has resisted the idea amid fears that it could affect people drinking only small amounts.
However, the latest research shows that a rate of 50p would cost moderate drinkers only an extra £12 a year.
The price difference would affect harmful drinkers the most, increasing the costs by an average of £163 a year.
There would also be a resultant 41,000 fewer cases of chronic illness, as well as 92,000 fewer hospital admissions linked to alcohol, saving the NHS around £270 million a year.
I just can't see where they are getting the figures.
An average extra spend of £163 a year to maintain the current level of "harmful" drinking. £163 pa is peanuts. Three quid a week per boozer is not going to be noticed by anyone except the Treasury.
Source:
http://tinyurl.com/yh4zvh3
