Minimum alcohol pricing is nigh

You are still using the drug figures, even though that report did not examine MUP. There is plenty of relevant research, so no excuse for that.

In my opiniin Brewdog isnt nice. I prefer a can of heineken or bottle of corona. Its down to personal tatse. I cant stand most of the craft beers.

Conclusions

Within the emergency departments, there was no evidence of a beneficial impact of minimum unit pricing. Implementation appeared to have been successful and there was no evidence of substitution from alcohol consumption to other drugs. Drinkers and stakeholders largely reported not noticing any change in price or consumption. The lack of effect observed in these settings in the short term, and the problem-free implementation, suggests that the price per unit set (£0.50) was acceptable, but may be too low. Our evaluation, which itself contains multiple components, is part of a wider programme co-ordinated by Public Health Scotland and the results should be understood in this wider context.

The above is from one of the links I googled. No surprise to me that the whole thing is a damp squib, and the world did not end for Scottish drinkers. Note the part about no evidence of alcohol users switching to other drugs.

It was based on a quote from the poster who suggested that €1k per person would be the kind of money to bring in a group of three and a van when making a trip from anywhere to NI.

When I suggested that €1k was a large sum their reply was as follows, thus implying that it was a point where it made economic sense.

Was I taking the poster out of context, to a certain extent yes, but equally if someone is thinking of going up the north to buy a grands worth of booze outside of a wedding or other occasion you do have to wonder about them.

My posts here are no more dishonest than the ones claiming that MUP is responsible for increased drug deaths in Scotland or that the figure supplied by Frank Feeghan around alcohol deaths in Ireland are "bullcrap".

What's the fûcking point in being part of the EU if our gov can double the price of anything they want overnight with zero consultation? I mean we seem to be hit with every levy and tax the government can come up with. Prices of everything are out of control. The gap between the rich and the poor is manufactured by the likes of this and other government policies. You'd need to earn 100k a year in this country just to live comfortably and not have shite like this affect you.

It will only be rolled back if its stopped by EU courts.

Or too much revenue loss. Alcohol consumption is dropping and on a general downward trend already. If any other 'targets' arent met their cry will be that it was too low.

You might see a reduction / harmonisation with the Norths level should they bring it in - if there is revenue leakage. Money talks.

You don't need anyone to prove that Frankie Feighan has been talking nonsense about MUP.

As late as yesterday this was his statement in a local paper -

"We are taking this action to ensure that cheap strong alcohol is not available to children and young people at pocket money prices and to help those who drink to harmful levels to reduce their intake"

Just walk into any supermarket and look at the shelves full of ordinary drinks at prices inflated by MUP.

The proof is there that Irish home drinkers have been conned by their politicians.

I had to resort to google again. From the first link I found. If it turns out the way they expect it will be a good result.

Why is minimum unit pricing being introduced?

Alcohol is a major cause of illness and disease, hospitalisations, self-harm, and violence in Ireland. It’s better for everyone if, as a country, we cut back.

In 2019, on average, every person in Ireland aged 15 and over drank 10.8 litres of pure alcohol a year – the equivalent of either 40 bottles of vodka, 113 bottles of wine or 436 pints of beer.

Research by the Sheffield Alcohol Research Group found that when minimum unit pricing on alcohol is introduced in Ireland, alcohol consumption is expected to reduce by almost 9% overall. 

The heaviest drinkers are expected to reduce their alcohol consumption by 15%, while people who already drink within the low-risk alcohol guidelines are expected to drink 3% less.

The heaviest drinkers buy the cheapest alcohol. Minimum unit pricing on alcohol targets these drinkers, reducing its affordability so that less alcohol is purchased. This will reduce the harm that alcohol causes them and others.

This should result in around 200 fewer alcohol-related deaths and 6,000 fewer hospital admissions per year.

But you can't prove it's "bullcrap" like you claimed it was.

12 x 330ml cans of brewdog punk ipa in the north for 14 pounds which is about 16.80 euros. 170 euro would buy you 120 cans which would last a while. Round it off to the 200 euro for 144 cans.

They would cost 288 in ireland at the current SPECIAL price. When NOT on special it would be 360. I cant see 12 packs here either in tesco. Just four. If you were to do that 3 or 4 times a year thats a decent saving. Bring kids and misses for the spin. Happy days.

Thats 160 euros of a saving. Mind boggling really. Crazy stuff.

Some will argue with that but heyho. It doesnt take a rocket surgeon to work out how mich you would save from 4 trips a year even deducting diesel and tolls.

You know as well as I do that those figures include murders, accidents, road deaths, suicides and anyone whose post mortem showed elevated levels of alcohol.

Meanwhile people who drink sensibly at home are being robbed blind by MUP.

Assuming you're in Dublin, that 160 is going to get eaten up by fuel (c.€30) and tolls (€10 for M50+M1 roundtrip) x 4 trips

LOL quoting from the sheffield model that is 13 years old, was based on studies from the late 90s and early 2000s and relied entirely on speculative guessing of how people would behave and has zero evidentiary facts to back it up.

I found it on a HSE link from May 2021.

https://www2.hse.ie/healthy-you/alcohol-blogs/minimum-unit-pricing-on-alcohol-what-is-it-and-what-will-it-mean-for-me-.html

I wouldn't mind the MUP so much if it was at the levels that Scotland introduced but a quick glance at Carlsberg €2.40 litre vs 3.75 here - 50% more expensive (they even have specials if you have a clubcard). There's even some lagers cheaper than the likes of Lidl's own brand (pre MUP)

That's quite some punch in the face for the ordinary guy here