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IEA reacts to Scottish Courts' ruling on minimum alcohol pricing

Commenting on the Scottish Courts’ ruling to back minimum alcohol pricing, Christopher Snowdon, Head of Lifestyle Economics at the Institute of Economic Affairs said:

“This is bad news for drinkers in Scotland and is a worrying precedent for consumers of other products. The court has decided that EU free trade rules can be sacrificed in favour of poorly defined concepts like ‘public health’ and ‘public morality’. In effect, they offer no protection at all. 

“Brexit means that this ruling has limited practical consequences for the implementation of minimum pricing. Scotland would be able to do it sooner or later anyway. But it shows how fragile the common market is in the face of special pleading.”

Notes to editors:

For media enquiries please contact Nerissa Chesterfield, Communications Officer: nchesterfield@iea.org.uk or 020 7799 8920

The mission of the Institute of Economic Affairs is to improve understanding of the fundamental institutions of a free society by analysing and expounding the role of markets in solving economic and social problems.

The IEA is a registered educational charity and independent of all political parties.