Opinions and questions from all sides of the drinks tax issue are flying around in the British media. A proposal to raise the tax on alcoholic beverages is endorsed by health professionals as a means of promoting the health and welfare of the British public, but its effect on drinks purveyors is raising opposition from that side of the table.
The Public Health Commission set up in 2008 was meant to establish an outline for cooperation between business and government to improve public health. The idea seems to be an approach based on social responsibility rather than government regulations, but health officials say that health is a minor consideration when it comes to the interests of big business.
Dr. Nick Sheron, a health expert at Southampton University, wrote in the British Medical Journal that both sides could benefit from his suggestion that the minimum price per unit of alcohol be increased, but the tax on drinks sold in pubs reduced. He reasons that the higher cost per drink would reduce the overall consumption of alcohol in pubs without putting the pub owners out of business, and the increased tax on supermarket sales of alcohol would boost the treasury’s revenue.
Dr. Sheron, a clinical hepatologist whose patients are often suffering from cirrhosis related to alcohol, noted that overuse of alcohol costs the U.K. economy billions of pounds every year in health costs and contributes to as many as 40,000 deaths.
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