What will they do next?

There has been much publicity surrounding the latest Government publication, Changing Scotland’s Relationship With Alcohol: A Framework for Action. As the Fourth Estate is aware of many of the ill-advised tinkerings which were made between the splendid Nicholson Report and the less splendid regulations with which we are now saddled, it is not surprising that much of the comment has been negative. Most of the negativity, I suspect, comes from those who have not read the paper itself.

Let me be clear from the outset – I am not a fan of, nor an apologist for, the current administration. But one must agree with Kenny MacAskill when, speaking of Scotland’s “bevvy culture”, he tells us that doing nothing is not an option.

There is undoubtedly a problem, as there was a problem with a cavalier approach to drink driving in the 1950s and 60s. A long slow process of social education and reflection has changed that. It will probably take more than one generation to solve the current problem, assuming that it is capable of being solved. Politicians, however, do not have the benefit of years to try to make a difference, and this thoughtful paper examines a variety of options. Some are plain daft. Having different ages for legal sales in on- and off-sale premises is surpassed in stupidity only by the suggestion that the law on age sales could differ between Kirkintilloch and Kirkcaldy. The notion that something which was legal in Dunoon should be illegal in Dunfermline would make an ass, not of the law, but of the politicians who promulgated it.

But what of minimum pricing – the ending of cheap promotions by insisting on a minimum price per unit of alcohol? This is not just an idea plucked from a brainstorming session, but based on researched models, and credible data. Critics say it will not deter the alcoholic. Of course not – anti-drug laws do not deter the heroin addict. There may be issues regarding EU competition law – I have seen persuasive arguments on both sides. The signs are that it might just make a difference to the problem, without unduly penalising the moderate user. Many of us with so-called liberal views opposed the smoking ban, but that has made a difference for the better, and was soon copied south of the border. If we have minimum pricing in Scotland alone, it will simply be a bonanza for off-licences in Berwick and Carlisle. If, however, we were to have some concerted action throughout the UK (which, sadly, seems unlikely), some real progress might be made.

Any initiative which concludes, as does this paper, that “we will continue to work... on the promotion of messages to help people to change their behaviour” has my approval, whether or not the politicians who promote it get my vote.