Efforts to tackle alcohol addiction set to be thwarted

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by Change | 27 Nov 2009

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Scottish government proposals aimed at tackling binge drinking and alcohol addiction in the country are being opposed by opposition parties, meaning the new bill is unlikely to get through.

A bill aimed at cutting binge drinking and alcohol addiction in Scotland is unlikely to get onto the statute books because opposition MSPs are untied against the plans.

The Scottish Nationalist Party, which leads a minority government in Scotland, had proposed introducing a minimum price per unit of alcohol, which would make it difficult for pubs and supermarkets to offer cheap drinks promotions.

However, Labour, the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats have objected to the plans, claiming that they would be in breach of European legislation.

The objection means that the Scottish government may have to go back to the drawing board in its efforts to find new ways to tackle alcohol addiction in the country, despite health secretary Nicola Sturgeon's plea that the bill represented a once-in-a-generation opportunity to turn around the country's increasing problem with alcohol consumption.

Recent figures have shown that the number of people heading to rehab clinics in Scotland due to alcohol addiction has continued to rise rapidly over recent years and it is estimated that alcohol addiction and other problems related to drinking cost the Scottish economy £2.25 billion every year.

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