Labour has accused the government of "weak leadership" after it emerged plans for minimum pricing of alcohol in England and Wales may be dropped.
Conservative ministers are understood to be split over a proposed 45p per unit price to tackle problem drinking.
Tory MP and ex-GP Sarah Wollaston said: "We have to set a minimum below which it's unsafe to sell alcohol." Labour said it was a "humiliating climbdown".
The Home Office said it was considering responses to its 10-week consultation.
Prime Minister David Cameron supports a minimum unit price, which supporters argue would help reduce the levels of ill-health and crime related to alcohol and prevent practices like "pre-loading" with drink before nights out.
'What's changed?'However, the BBC understands there is now significant pressure within the government for the plan to be dropped, amid opposition from cabinet ministers including Home Secretary Theresa May, Education Secretary Michael Gove and Commons leader Andrew Lansley.
BBC political editor Nick Robinson said that while there had been no official confirmation the plans would be dropped, sources involved in the discussion said the policy was "in its death throes".
He said the chancellor was expected to to set out the government's approach to alcohol pricing in next week's Budget.
Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.
Conservative MP Sarah Wollaston said alcohol was causing ''avoidable deaths''
Labour's shadow Home Office minister Diana Johnson said: "Theresa May and David Cameron have announced a minimum alcohol price twice in the last 12 months.
"Now we hear reports the home secretary has changed her mind on her own policy and wants to U-turn. This is weak leadership and weak government."
She added: "The home secretary and the prime minister said this measure would cut crime and prevent alcohol abuse - what's changed?"
The Home Office said it was considering all representations to its consultation on the measure and would report back in due course.
If a 45p unit price were to be introduced, a can of strong lager could not be sold for less than £1.56 or a bottle of wine for less than £4.22.
'Blunderbuss policy'The department is also considering banning multi-buy promotions, such as two-for-the-price-of-one.
Minimum pricing had always seemed an odd fit. In opposition, neither the Tories nor the Lib Dems had been that vocal in calling for it.
In fact, Andrew Lansley, who was the health secretary for the first two years of this government, was opposed to it.
However, slowly but surely, it began to gather momentum. First, a 40p threshold was put forward and then - at the end of last year - 45p was proposed and consulted on.
That would have been ground-breaking. Along with Scotland, England and Wales looked set to become one of a very select band of countries to try to tackle problem drinking in this way.
Research has suggested a 45p minimum could reduce drinking by 4.3%, potentially saving 2,000 lives within a decade. This was why the idea had such strong backing from the medical profession.
But using price is a crude tool. As well as hitting problem drinkers, it would also influence those who consume alcohol in moderation. Dropping the plan may win ministers votes, but it won't make them popular with doctors.
Dr Wollaston told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that she was "devastated" at reports minimum pricing would be dropped, describing problem drinking as "an absolute health crisis".
"We know that whenever alcohol is too cheap, people die," she said. "If the chancellor wants a message from me, it's that we're already paying a huge amount to clear up the cost of this - around £21bn a year just to deal with the crime, violence and medical costs of it."
She said any rise in alcohol duty would not tackle the problem of supermarkets discounting alcohol at very cheap prices, around 22p a unit, which was "causing carnage".
But fellow Conservative, former shadow home secretary David Davis described minimum pricing as a "blunderbuss policy" which would punish responsible drinkers on low incomes and pensioners.
He said there was no evidence minimum pricing worked because "alcoholics are not sensitive about the pennies". He called for more to be done to stop shops selling alcohol to under-age drinkers and make pubs deal with drunk people on their premises.
Tory MP Tracey Crouch said she believed the rumours of a climb-down were "more about politics than policy", adding she was "disappointed" the home secretary appeared to have changed her mind.
"This is about political manoeuvrings perhaps rather than actually looking at the long-term health of the nation," she told the BBC.
'Be courageous'Dr Vivienne Nathanson, director of professional activities at the British Medical Association, said she was surprised to hear rumours of the climbdown as she believed Mr Cameron was "quite clearly in favour of it".
She added: "[Mr Cameron must] be courageous. This is a once in lifetime opportunity to save lives and save the country money."
She dismissed concerns that low-income moderate drinkers would be penalised, citing yet-to-be-published research that estimated the average alcohol bill would increase by only about 40p a week.
But the Wine and Spirit Trade Association said recent figures showed alcohol consumption was falling and there was little evidence showing that a minimum price would reduce problem drinking.
"Minimum unit pricing would penalise responsible drinkers and treat everyone who is looking for value in their shopping as a binge-drinker," said the body's chief executive Miles Beale.
Devolution has meant different strategies have been developing to tackle rising rates of problem drinking across the UK.
In addition to the 45p consultation in England and Wales, in Scotland a 50p price is set to be introduced.
Northern Ireland is yet to put forward a specific proposal, although it is reviewing pricing.
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
Government 'weak' on alcohol pricing
Dengan url
http://gayabugarsehat.blogspot.com/2013/03/government-weak-on-alcohol-pricing.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
Government 'weak' on alcohol pricing
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
Government 'weak' on alcohol pricing
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar