A CHARITY that aims to
tackle harmful drinking has welcomed a call by Irish
vintners for minimum alcohol prices.
The North West Alcohol Forum (NWAF) said there was
"clear international evidence" that a minimum price
for alcohol would dramatically assist a reduction in
alcohol consumption.
NWAF director Eamon O'Kane said: "In Ireland the
pattern of alcohol purchasing has shifted from the
pub to the off-licence and supermarkets in
particular. A way to reduce binge drinking and
teenage drinking would be to support this call by
the Vintners’ Federation of Ireland."
Mr O'Kane added: "A well run pub can offer regulated
and appropriately priced alcohol vending that
removes the need for expensive legislative minimum
pricing processes.”
According to the local forum, recent research at the
University of Sheffield found that introducing a
minimum price per unit of alcohol reduced levels of
alcohol consumption by 10.3 per cent among harmful
drinkers and 3.8 per cent among moderate drinkers.
Research in Ireland shows that there has been a 305%
increase in the number of off-licences between 1998
and 2009 and over the same time period pub licences
have decreased by 32%.
Meanwhile, in 2009, the average cost of a 500ml can
of lager from the off-licence was €1.80 while the
average price of a pint of lager in the pub was
€4.50. The NWAF said the off-licence sector
accounted for half of the alcohol market share in
2008 and while the volume of alcohol sold from the
off-licence was much greater than that sold over the
bar counter.
Meanwhile, Donegal Vintners’ Group chairman and
owner of the Glencar Inn, Letterkenny, Martin
Gibbons explained: “Commercially, it is clear that
we cannot compete with the low prices charged by
supermarkets and if the practice continues Ireland
will lose the pub as a key venue for the responsible
and controlled sale of alcohol. Publicans are under
severe pressure with turnover down between 20% and
40%, many pubs will close if something is not done."
Mr O’Kane said: “It may seem ironic to some that we
should be advocating for the pub but we have never
been an organisation that is anti-alcohol. A
concerted effort by whatever means to reduce high
volume, low cost sales, coupled with mandatory
responsible server of alcohol training will
undoubtedly save lives and reduce the negative
experiences of alcohol in Ireland.”
The NWAF covers Donegal, Sligo and Leitrim and is
focused on challenging the negative aspects of
alcohol culture in these counties. |
