Minimum price for alcohol unlikely to cut consumption

Despite calls to raise the minimum price of alcohol such a move would be unlikely to dissuade UK consumers from changing their drinking habits, new research has found.

According to the Wilson Drinks Report (WDR), only one in five adult drinkers in the UK said they would buy less alcohol and spend the same amount they do now.

Consumption would be unlikely to fall, the WDR research found. More than half of those responding to the survey said they would either spend more on the same amount of drink or look for cheaper drink alternatives.

The survey found strong regional variations in attitudes towards price increases and consumption trends.

Scottish drinkers were the most likely (35 per cent) to take the hit on pricing and continue to drink the same amount should minimum pricing be introduced.

Drinkers in the North (23 per cent) and East of England (23 per cent) are the most likely to buy less alcohol if prices were increased.

Tim Wilson, author of the WDR, said he had to be persuaded that the policy of minimum pricing would work as intended.

"The research shows that 89 per cent of British adult drinkers buy alcohol in supermarkets. Our analysis also shows that retailers' own label alcoholic drinks have some of the lowest prices per unit of alcohol."

Any implementation of minimum pricing would hit these drinks the hardest, Wilson believed.

"Minimum pricing might be a very simple concept to apply, but the research suggests it is unlikely to reduce consumption. It may also be illegal under EU competition law," he added.