Our Relationship With Alcohol Is A Cultural Problem

Nicola Sturgeon and staff of Glasgow

Royal Infirmary yesterday

Scotland and the rest of the UK has an alcohol problem. It's a cultural problem resulting in avoidable health issues and one which has been ignored for decades.

Yesterday, Nicola Sturgeon announced the Scottish government intended to introduce a minimum price of 50p per unit on cheap alcohol from April of next year.  A brave move some say while others protest it is a tax on the poor.  It's certainly a boost to the profits of the producers and retailers of alcohol and a move which will hit moderate drinkers the hardest, although as one myself I have no objection to my taxes going towards making our society a better place in which to live.  But will it?

Alcohol is perhaps the most damaging legal and socially acceptable consumer item freely available for all.  It not only damages the heavy drinker but family and friends of alcoholics can be seriously affected.

My problem with the minimum pricing proposal is that it's based on a couple of studies from Canada (BC in particular) and a 'model' study from an English university.  We're all well aware how the 'model' studies of climate change eventually revealed a chain of unjustifiable claims and brought the science into disrepute. It also concerns me that once this minimum pricing proposal is socially accepted it will lead to further price increases; such as 'fatty' foods and carbonated soft drinks.

The results of the Canadian studies are interesting but have been queried by several charities which deal with those suffering alcohol problems.  One individual I know, who has worked with the Canadian AA for many years, agrees the consumption of alcohol has slightly reduced, but little attention has been paid to the increase in illegal drug abuse, which has increased far more than the decrease seen since the introduction of minimum pricing.

Some may argue certain drugs are less harmful than alcohol and that may be true, but my informant relays the reduction in alcohol consumption is mainly due to the better off reducing the quantities they purchase.  If an individual wants to get alcohol they will and a price hike makes no difference.

My Canadian friend also says the most effective way to stop excessive alcohol consumption is proper education of the young and correct use of the law plus, with the help of medical practitioners, a system of indentifying abuse before it causes long-term harm. 

Drunks are not tolerated on the streets of BC as they are here in the UK. Police gather them up and put them in cells until they're sober and, with few exceptions, they are charged the following day. Shame and humiliation causes many to reduce their intake and repeat offenders are quickly identified.  Usually they are offered treatment for their addiction, although I understand some of the treatments result in addiction to prescription drugs.

It's a catch 22 situation in many ways. Any attempt to reduce the attraction and consumption of cheap alcohol will have problems, but I don't think the introduction of minimum pricing is brave. I consider it an easy - and relatively untested - solution to a serious cultural problem, but although it's easy it's a step in the right direction.

A brave move would be to change our relationship with alcohol and recognise why so many people abuse it.  It's not just the young sprawled on the pavements on Friday and Saturday nights who may have problems. Behind closed doors is where a great deal of alcohol is consumed and where dependancy develops. 

That's why it's a cultural problem because something is wrong at the heart of a society where so many, too often, reach for alcohol in order to mask their worries. It's sad to know that we're prepared to increase the cost yet not address the core reasons for the problem with any seriousness.

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'Cultural Sensitivity'

London Metropolitan University, commonly referred to as London Met, is one of these 'new' universities which sprang up after the demise of technical colleges and has been offering further education for 10 years.  It boasts to being in the top 10 most popular universities in England for international students.

London Met has offices in Bangladesh, China, India, Nigeria and Pakistan and attracts students from 190 countries.

One-fifth of the university's students are Muslim and of those the majority are women.  Professor Malcolm Gillies is considering banning the sale of alcohol from some parts of the campus because a 'high percentage' of students consider drinking 'immoral'.  He goes on to say:

"Because there's no majority ethnic group, I think it [selling alcohol] is playing to particular parts of our society much more [than to others]".


I was always under the impression that UK universities were liberal establishments which offered our young people the opportunity to learn and make personal choices.

If alcohol is removed from campuses because it offends a minority, how long will it be before certain foods are banned because they are culturally insensitive to certain ethnic groups?

It would seem sex on campus may be next on the professor's banned list. It wouldn't surprise me if some of his students renamed him Killjoy.

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The Demon Drink

The weather has been exceptional this month and for the first time for many years I'm ahead with gardening chores. Yesterday the grass was scarified, fed and watered and when I'd finished I relaxed with a sherry.

Also yesterday I received an email from a friend entitled 'We're binge drinkers'.  Upon closer inspection she sent me this link which states: 'Binge Drinking - A brief time of excessive alcohol where a person has more than one drink.' She was right, we are binge drinkers because we usually have a couple of drinks during a evening. My habit is a sherry or two before my evening meal and hers is a brandy or two - completely destroyed by copious amounts of ginger ale - after her meal.

My friend insists her alcohol intake is strictly medicinal (she has heart problems). My only excuse is that I enjoy my evening tipple and refuse to allow anyone to dictate my drinking habits.

I don't support the Scottish Government's rush to legislate for minimum pricing; nor do I support David Cameron's U-turn on the subject. Lesley Riddoch, in the SoS, pedals the myth that we're a cheap booze culture. That's untrue. A can of Stella is the same price in Germany as it is here. Many wines are far cheaper on the continent than they are here. German schnapps is on a par with Scotch - it varies in price according to quality.

No, we don't have a cheap booze culture. We have the wrong attitude to booze. Too many people use it to escape the stressing of daily life instead of using it to enhance the quality of their lives. Most people drink in moderation, but no matter how high politicians push up prices, those who want drink will buy it. Will they buy less?  For those who have a problem with alcohol I think not and neither will the minimum price affect those who consume a half bottle of vodka before hitting the clubs on a Friday or Saturday.

The benefactors of minimum pricing will be the retailers. In Scotland an attempt by the opposition to scupper the government's plans for a Tesco Tax was defeated earlier this month, so the tax on retailers which sell alcohol and tobacco will become law. However, with the other hand, the Scottish government could well be returning most of the £95m which the supermarkets and large shops will be forced to pay, although an accurate assessment of the profit will only be available once the unit price is set.  The profits will also be shared with the alcohol producers, who, unsurprisingly, support minimum pricing. 

Medics also support the idea, but will they see a reduction in the amount of alcohol related visits to A & Es or alcohol related deaths?  Results of the recent legislation have made little difference to what is on offer on supermarket shelves.

Until we tackle public drunkenness with the legislation we've had for years I can't see minimum pricing making a difference. Scotland is the first country in Europe to be tackling our alcohol problem with minimum pricing, so the policy has not been tested. It is based on two university research projects, one English and one Canadian.

As someone remarked to me recently, "Why don't they just ban alcohol and tobacco if they cause so many problems?"  The answer is money. Tobacco and alcohol consumption makes £billions for the Treasury. Surprisingly, the Scottish government hasn't suggested 'horror' labeling of alcohol in the same manner as is depicted on cigarette packets. Maybe the graphic below would shake us all into thinking twice about buying alcohol.

No?  Thought not. What about a little McGonagall then?

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Political Duplicity

It's alleged the Falkirk MP Eric Joyce, started a rammy (brawl) in the Strangers Bar in the Palace of Westminster on Wednesday night.  He is said to have attacked the Tory MP Stuart Andrew, several other Tory MPs and a Labour colleague after complaining the bar was 'full of Tories'.

The police were called and Eric Joyce was held overnight at a London police station on suspicion of assault. It is reported he left the police station last night after being charged with three counts of common assault.

I've no wish to comment on Joyce's behaviour because it would appear, throughout his careers, he's encouraged animosity amongst his peers and superiors, but I would like to highlight the hypocrisy of the political classes.

All food and drink (including alcohol) supplied within the Palace of Westminster is heavily subsidised by the taxpayer; the catering subsidy for the financial year ending 31 March 2011 was £5.8m. That fact alone irritates me particularly when the governments of the UK and Scotland are attempting to bring forward legislation which will increase the price of alcohol to those of us who aren't privileged enough to have it subsidised.

All the bars in the Palace of Westminster and Holyrood should be closed unless hotel prices are implemented. Alcohol and work don't mix and the excuse for having bars within parliament buildings has long gone. The House of Commons seldom sits late into the night and Holyrood has never had the need. Cafes can supply a varied selection of non-alcoholic beverages and there are plenty restaurants and eating houses for politicians to enjoy the best quality food.

If this event had happened anywhere other than Westminster by anyone other than an MP it would be an example of the disgraceful 'yob' culture infecting these islands and followed by politicians calling for action.

One journalist shows sympathy with politicians because 'most MPs drinking there are doing so because they haven't really got anywhere else to go...Sometimes they just don't want to go 'home' to a London flat they find lonely'.  I find Mr Kirkup's empathic article somewhat outside the real world. There are many thousands of people who have to leave their families on a weekly or longer basis in order to do their work. Few have the luxury of taxpayer-funded 'homes' or 5 star bars and restaurants.

For some years I travelled regularly and yes, I did find it lonely, because I was in a different part of the country each time, but I was able to entertain myself during my off duty hours. An MP's London workplace is the Palace of Westminster which caters for their every whim. The whole of London culture and entertainment is on their doorstep so there is no reason for any MP to be in their workplace outwith their working hours.

One fact of life is certain. Eric Joyce will remember yesterday morning's hangover for a very, very long time.

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