BBPA says no to trade levy to help those with alcohol problems

The British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) has rejected calls for a levy on the trade to fund treatment for people with alcohol problems.

Mark Hastings, spokesman for the BBPA, said: "The industry spends £250m a year on advertising. Yet it pays £12bn a year in taxes to the Treasury. That's one fifth of the amount spent annually on the health service. Surely people need to start pushing the government to release more of those funds to help people suffering from alcohol dependency?"

But a spokesman for Alcohol Concern, the national agency on alcohol misuse, told thePublican.com: "If you think how much money the trade makes from alcohol advertising, surely it could dip into its profits to help out people with problems caused by alcohol? We would like to see some kind of levy imposed on alcohol advertising."

These comments were made in light of a recent report published by social care charity Turning Point, which stated that six times as many people in the UK are dependant on alcohol than Class A drugs. The report also revealed that 13 people die every day as a result of alcohol misuse.

Drinks companies argue they have taken steps to combat alcohol misuse. Allied Domecq, Diageo and Pernod Ricard have signed up to The Portman Group's sensible advertising campaign, which encourages companies to put messages promoting sensible drinking on their adverts.

Diageo has launched its own "social responsibility" department and updated its marketing code to ensure that on-trade promotions do not encourage excessive drinking.

Paul Flanagan, spokesman for Diageo, said: "Everyone has to look at the issue. It is a matter for government, not just drinks companies."

The report on drinking said that funding for alcohol was a paltry sum compared to the amount spent on drug treatment and education and called on the government to give alcohol services greater priority.

Jim Minton, spokesman for industry watchdog The Portman Group, believes that better education is the way forward. "Drugs education has always had a high priority while alcohol has missed out. The industry has a major role to play in ensuring alcohol does not appeal to under-18s," he said.

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