Minimum Price on Booze in Scotland
Scotland had passed a law in 2012 to set a floor price for drinks that contained a certain amount of alcohol percentage but faced legal challenges along the way. The main reason that the government want this law to pass was to hopefully cut consumption and save lives. The three times of alcohol that would face the biggest rise in prices are high-strength white cider, cheap own-brand vodka and whisky. According to BBC Scotland, "The Scottish government claims minimum pricing will save 58 lives in its first year and reduce hospital admissions by 1,300."
Health Secretary Shona Robison said that the policy is geared towards making sure that by increasing the price, particularly of those products that do the most harm, that we will reduce consumption. They believe that licensing standards officers will be able to make sure that stores will enforce the minimum pricing because if they don't it could result in a criminal offence.
Do you think placing a minimum price on booze will help reduce their drinking problems? I think this is a great idea to help the country with their drinking problems. I also think about Wisconsin and UW Stout in particular and wonder if it would help here. I think raising prices on certain types of liquor would definitely reduce the amount of drinking by college kids because we always go for the cheapest or best deal that they offer. I believe that other countries with drinking problems should look into this and consider it because I think it would help the situation in the long run.
References
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-43948081
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