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24 hour drinking - a case of government failure?
24th February 2008
Last week one of our bloggers carried a story about taxation and the demand for alcohol. And today the Independent reports that a Home Office study is likely to report that the liberalising of the licencing laws in 2003 has not (as yet) led to a reduction in alcolhol related crime or a change in our drinking patterns towards a European-style culture. The Indy report claims that ‘Serious violent crime has been displaced, with a steep rise in offences committed between 3am and 6am and, despite the millions spent on police crackdowns on drunken disorder, alcohol-fuelled crime hot spots have become worse.’
You can barely walk into a supermarket these days without facing a barrage of deep discounts on cans of lager, boxes of Chilian wine and bulky dispensers of Heineken. It is cheaper to buy a can of lager than a bottle of mineral water. Online shoppers receive regular emails alerting them to the latest 3 for 2 offers on cheap alcohol. The supermarkets have a social responsibility but one retailer on their own is unlikely to make the first move for fear of putting itself at a competitive disadvantage. Is it time for a law banning the deep discounting of alcohol products.
Telegraph
BBC news audio-video on Tesco and alcohol prices
Geoff Riley
Geoff Riley FRSA has been teaching Economics for over thirty years. He has over twenty years experience as Head of Economics at leading schools. He writes extensively and is a contributor and presenter on CPD conferences in the UK and overseas.