Following the European Court of Justice’s opinion on the introduction of a minimum unit price for alcohol in Scotland, the ALMR has urged authorities to look at alternatives for addressing health harms and stressed the need for clarity going forward.
ALMR Chief Executive Kate Nicholls said: “The ALMR has always been cautious that the introduction of a minimum unit price for alcohol alone would address any perceived harms and this is still the case. What the licensed hospitality sector needed was a sense of clarity going forward, but there is still an element of confusion regarding the opinion. We must stress that this is still a preliminary opinion and we should await the formal ruling.
“If local and national authorities are committed to tackling any perceived health harms due to alcohol, then a better course of action would be to focus on controlling unrestricted off-trade promotions.
“With over 70% of alcohol consumed away from licensed premises, we want to remind the Government that we firmly believe the best place for people to enjoy alcohol is in the safe, supervised environment of a pub and we will continue to promote the positive work of a responsible sector.”
Leave a Reply