Scotland’s minimum pricing arguments are set out in court
Scotland’s minimum pricing arguments are set out in court
Jan 16, 2013 6
(TheDrinksBusiness) - The Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) has started to set out its case in the legal challenge to the introduction of a minimum price for alcohol in Scotland.
Minimum alcohol pricingThe SWA and other European wine and spirits producers have taken legal action against the legislation introduced by the Scottish government, which would see a 50p per unit minimum price introduced.
In setting out the SWA’s case at the Court of Session in Edinburgh, Aidan O’Neill QC argued that minimum pricing would hit poor drinkers and not tackle alcohol misuse.
He said health statistics show that the problem of hazardous and harmful drinking is most common among the richer sections of society.
O’Neill said: “What one can draw from that is that hazardous and harmful drinkers are more likely to be found in the rich, rather than among the poor, and the rich, by definition, have more disposable income.
“Therefore a pricing measure which targets cheap alcohol is one that can be avoided by the rich.
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