Minimum pricing will be heard in Europe
30 Apr 2014 04:44 PM
The case to
implement a minimum unit price of alcohol in Scotland is to be referred to the
Court of Justice of the European Union, it was announced yesterday.
The Inner House of
the Court of Session delivered its opinion to both parties.
Health Secretary
Alex Neil welcomed the referral from the courts and stressed that
it was right this “precedent-setting case” was considered by the
European Court of Justice, the highest authority on EU law.
He said:
“The Scottish Government has always believed that minimum unit pricing is
the right thing to do and will save lives. Scotland has a difficult
relationship with alcohol and we need to urgently take action to tackle this
problem that puts a huge burden on our society.
“The
evidence shows that minimum unit pricing is an effective way to tackle
alcohol-related harm. This is because it targets heavy drinkers in particular
as they tend to drink the cheap, high strength alcohol that will be most
affected by the policy.
“That is why
I welcome the referral to European Court of Justice. Scotland is leading the
way in Europe. We are confident of our case and look forward to presenting it
in the European Court of Justice.
“While it is
regrettable that this means we will not be able to implement minimum unit
pricing sooner, we will continue our on-going and productive dialogue with EU
officials. In fact, I am in Brussels today to discuss the increasing interest
among other European Union members, including Ireland and Estonia, in bringing
forward a minimum unit pricing policy.”
Note To
Editors
Background
Following the
Outer House hearing in the Court of Session last January, Lord Doherty’s
judgement in May 2013 provided overwhelming support to the Scottish Government
policy of minimum unit pricing.
Lord Doherty held
that none of the petitioners’ challenges to the minimum unit pricing
measures were well founded and that there was no proper basis for the
petitioners being granted any of the remedies which they sought.
The Scotch Whisky
Association’s grounds of appeal to the Inner House of the Court of
Session were that Lord Doherty erred in several aspects. The appeal hearing
focused on what the aim of minimum unit pricing is, whether this aim could be
achieved using alcohol excise duties which would be less distortive to the free
movement of goods (article 34 of TFEU) and whether the policy was proportionate
to protect public health and therefore justifiable under article 36 of
TFEU.
It is likely to
take over a year to receive a judgement from the Court of Justice of the
European Union. In 2012 the average length of preliminary reference proceedings
from the date of the reference to the date of the judgement was 15.7
months.
Irish Health
Minister Alex White TD, on introducing minimum pricing in the Irish Public
Health (Alcohol) Bill, October 2013 - “The Government has recognised the
severe consequences of the misuse of alcohol – including deaths, injuries
and social and financial problems – and has determined to take action to
address this problem. The package of measures…will include provision for
minimum unit pricing for alcohol products and the regulation of advertising and
marketing of alcohol.” (Health Department Press Release, 24 October
2013)
Mr. Taavi
Rõivas, previously Minister of Social Affairs and now Prime Minister of
the Republic of Estonia said: “Estonia shares Scotland’s concern
over the negative impact of alcohol on health and we have similar problems in
this field…We will continue to monitor the international evidence for
minimum pricing and analyse the possibilities and the impacts of establishing
minimum pricing in Estonia. It is essential for member countries to use the
most effective measures possible to solve important public health
problems.” (28 October 2013)
Key
Statistics
- Scots
drink a fifth more than their counterparts in England and Wales, fuelling the
much higher levels of alcohol-related harm.
- Hospital
admissions have quadrupled since the early 1980s.
- On
average there are around 700 hospital admissions and 20 deaths a week due to
alcohol misuse.
- Alcohol
misuse is costing Scotland £3.6 billion each year – £900 for
every adult.
- Alcohol
is now around 60% more affordable than it was in 1980 with this trend being
driven by the off-trade – off-trade sales increased by 45% between 1994
and 2012 compared to a fall in the on-trade of 34%.
- It is now
estimated that around two-thirds of alcohol sold in Scotland is now sold
through the off-trade.
- Price
distribution of alcohol sold through the off-trade in Scotland in 2012 shows
that 60% of alcohol was sold below 50p per unit. Within this:
- 83% of vodka was sold below 50p per
unit;
- 64% of whisky was sold below 50p per
unit;
- 44% of wine was sold below 50p per
unit;
- 65% of beer was sold below 50p per
unit;
- 75% of cider was sold below 50p per
unit.
- A 50p per
unit minimum price would increase the price of a 70cl bottle of whisky to
£14. Whilst this will impact on the likes of supermarket own label
whisky, the premium products are unlikely to be directly affected.