Paul Smith: Health report could impact on well-being of industry
Speaking to operators recently, it is clear the snow has caused problems in the short term, yet in the longer term the parliamentary Health Committee report on alcohol could cause more profound and long-lasting damage to our industry.
The report has a decidedly campaigning tone, with a strong emphasis on a handful of issues: minimum pricing, serving to drunks, young people and alcohol, advertising, and the lack of alcohol-related treatment services.
On the subject of minimum pricing, Noctis has been historically supportive. We recognise that really cheap supermarket alcohol fuels a growing pre-loading problem and means that our members have to deal, at great expense, with the fallout. Having said that, the imposition of a price per unit has the capacity to create serious and lasting damage to the competiveness of the UK spirits industry.
The serving to drunks issue is one which our industry has been expecting to face for some time and 2010 is undoubtedly the year when this issue comes to the fore. Young people and alcohol is a hot button issue - and will continue to gather momentum. The report highlights student drinking - no doubt fuelled by a handful of high profile issues which surfaced in 2009. It makes special mention too about how it believes young people are bombarded by alcohol advertising messages and renews the call for a tightly enforced watershed.
Reading the report, I was struck by how closely it mirrors a piece of public health campaigning published at the end of 2007 by the Nuffield Council on Bioethics entitled: Public health: ethical issues. Both documents advocate a dramatic shift towards much more draconian legislation. Both documents say education and partnership should be replaced by tough, affirmative action.
In the Nuffield report, alcohol and tobacco are bracketed together with a strong sense that the public health victories achieved over retailing tobacco, should be replicated with alcohol. Both documents are highly critical of any corporate social responsibility initiatives which our industry is involved in and both paint a highly fictional picture of a beleaguered health lobby and an all-powerful alcohol lobby.
As an industry we have our work cut out for 2010. We have to change the script which presents our industry in a negative light. This is my new year's resolution for 2010.
