Today a chamber of MSP's got together to debate the newly proposed measures to combat alcohol misuse. A lot of positive issues were raised, and a lot of MSPs raised the fact that alienating all 18 to 21 year olds from being able to buy a bottle of wine, yet enabling them to get minced in a pub, is a flawed idea. It appears that the Labour party has joined the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and Green party, in opposing the raising of the drinking age, but there are bigger issues to be addressed.There also appeared to be cross party support for the opinion that if the current legislation isn't working, mainly through lack of enforcement, then any new ideas, particularly with the raising of the age you can buy alcohol, are pointless until the current laws are upheld.
I have included some key points below and then given my opinion on them
Raising the off sales age to 21 and underage sales
Pauline McNeill (Labour, Glasgow Kelvin) alluded to the fact that the SNP were throwing all the ideas in the air, and seeing what sticks. She also brought up the fact that Scots across all ages misuse alcohol, and there is no evidence that the 18 to 21 year old age group are the main proportion of people misusing alcohol.
Frank McAveety (Labour, Glasgow Shettleston) raised the point that if an 18 year old is capable of deciding who they want on their local health board, then surely they should be considered capable of deciding how they want to manage their own health.
Michael Matheson (SNP, Falkirk West) said that he was in favour of raising the age to 21, and did not support the view that being able to fight in a war or get married at a younger age was illogical, despite cross party opinion generally thinking that. He also said that, pertaining to the difference between off and on sales, he believes in pubs alcohol is controlled by the pub, whereas at home it is not. Obviously Mr Matheson has not been in a pub at 10pm at night, where he will see people of all ages drunk out of their minds and still being served.
Dr Richard Simpson (Labour, Mid Scotland & Fife) Suggested that using bans on people under 21 buying alcohol might have merit in certain areas, but these bans should be for antisocial behaviour reasons, not health reasons.
Opinion - There is nothing wrong with a debate, and raising the drinking age to 21 should be part of it. Comments by Michael Matheson that there is nothing wrong with having different ages where we are able to do something would have merit had the SNP not being considering lowering the voting age to 16. If you are considered an adult of sound mind and able to vote at 16, you should be able to make a choice on your health at 18. Also, if you are allowed to smoke at 18, which, and lets be honest here, there are NO health benefits of, you should be allowed to drink alcohol where there can be some health benefits when consumed in moderation, as was brought up by Conservative MSP Mary Scanlon.
Margaret Smith (Liberal Democrats, Edinburgh West) also asked how the raising of the drinking age would affect young people working in shops, and it was mentioned by several MSPs that a married couple, with jobs and children, could be in the situation that they couldn't buy a bottle of wine to drink over dinner. There is no doubt that raising the age has some merits, but the criticisms of it, and the problems of doing it, are greater. The main thing, and this was raised, is that if you are going to stop excessive drinking of young people, you need to allow them to drink in moderation and not alienate them. Educate them, don't just ban them from drinking. A compulsory ID policy would solve the underage drinking problem, and severe punishment for retailers breaking the law would discourage retailers and pubs from serving people without ID.
Excessive Drinking & Social Responsibility
Ms McNeill brought up the point that banning alcohol promotions wouldn't effect the sales of drinks such as Buckfast and alcopops, which are the drinks that young people drink on the streets, as these products aren't promoted. Also, Mary Scanlon (Conservative, Highlands & Islands) raised the point that just because 3 bottles of wine were bought for the price of 2 doesn't mean that people are going to drink them quickly. They just buy in bulk and drink them over time.
It was also brought up that Supermarkets, which have a social corporate responsibility, need to be held accountable. Selling strong beer for the equivalent of 40 pence per pint. This could be stopped by a minimum pricing,
Opinion - All retailers, and I am one, have to accept responsibility for out part in alcohol misuse. Both from a health perspective and a social disorder perspective, we know that excessive drinking causes problems, but the cure for one isn't going to be the cure for the other. People being able to drink at 18 and multibuy discounts are not the problem. The problem is that the laws that are currently in place are not being enforced strongly. If bars and shops are not allowed to sell to intoxicated people, the number of people getting very drunk will be dramatically reduced.
Adding in a public drinking ban across Scotland will prevent people, young and old, getting drunk in public and causing social disturbances but this would prevent people enjoying outdoor picnics or barbecues in parks and on beaches, which could be very unpopular.
The social responsibility of producers and retailers could go hand in hand with educating young people into the problems of alcohol misuse, with part of the duty on alcohol going towards an education programme. However, raising the prices too high in Scotland will result in 'booze cruises' to England, and therefore make a lot of retailers in Scotland uncompetitive and be counter productive.
This debate has to go on, which is a good thing, but what has to be remembered is that it is society that needs changed, not the laws. The Scottish Parliament should have police enforce existing laws, the should educate people but not start blaming young people and businesses for the minority who misuse alcohol or break the current laws.
Whatever happens, we cannot make the headline grabbing elements of this debate (for example the raising of the drinking age) to dominate the real reason for the SNP's proposals. We have a drinking problem in Scotland that needs addressed, and while I don't agree with the methods the SNP have proposed, everyone - including those campaigning against a specific element of the proposals - need to look at the bigger picture and work together to reduce alcohol misuse and the social problems it causes.
Comments