Students and bartenders alike are outraged at the new plans for minimum alcohol prices.
The proposal plans to bring up the price to 45 pence per unit of alcohol and are currently being debated in government.
This new proposal is to try and curb the trend of people drinking to excess, specifically the drinking of very cheap supermarket and off-licence booze.
This has not gone down well with students. A History first year, James Gibson, commented: “These new measures are a disgrace and will discriminate against the poorest in society.”
This comes after Vision reported that first-year students are going out less than third-year students due to the bump in fees.
Ian Loftus, the manager of the House of Trembling Madness stated: “A media campaign on drink problems would be far more effective than printing on bottles.
“Britain is famous for producing some of the finest drinks in the world and we need to continue to advertise and do sponsorship deals in order to export these products.”
Home Secretary Theresa May wants the price of cheap alcohol to be increased, and the proposal is currently being discussed by ministers. With these plans Ms. May hopes that the 45 pence per unit price will deter binge drinkers who are costing British taxpayers £21 billion a year.
The Alcohol Health Alliance wants hard hitting health warnings, similar to those found on cigarette packets to be branded on alcoholic products. Not only this, but they and other activists are calling for bans on alcohol advertising, restrictions of times at which alcohol can be traded and to further increase the minimum price.
Bob Hughes, YUSU Welfare Officer, commented on the matter: “Although I think that setting minimum prices on units can help reduce some of the dangers of overly cheap drinks, I also feel that focusing on raising the prices of units sometimes ignores the wider issues of drinking culture and the attitudes surrounding alcohol.”
The increase in price aims to lower the amount being drunk at ‘pre-drinks’ by raising the prices of strong cheap alcohol, such as three litre bottles of cider, bottles of vodka, and cheap wine and lager. The results would mean a bottle of three litre cider containing 22.5 units, currently costing £3.75, would rocket in price to £10.13. Similarly, a standard 70cl bottle of vodka would not be able to retail for anything less than £11.70. The minimum price of a bottle of 12.5% wine would be set at £4.41, rendering the three for £10 offers obsolete.