ACS

Scottish Labour is launching an Alcohol Commission to consider a range of measures to deal with Scotland's hard drinking culture. These include a legal limit on the amount of caffeine that can be contained in alcoholic drinks.

Shadow Health Secretary Jackie Baillie said that Labour had rejected proposals for minimum unit pricing because they would put £90 million in the pockets of supermarkets and big brewers without creating a single extra penny for extra police or alcohol treatment.

The Commission has been established to consider and report on a range of alternative proposals that will we believe will be more effective in reducing the level of alcohol abuse. These include:
 

• A mandatory 'Challenge 25' scheme to stop underage drinking
• Alternative pricing mechanisms that will create an income stream for dealing with the consequences of alcohol abuse.
• Alcohol Treatment and Testing Orders to tackle the problem drinking of offenders
• Better enforcement of existing legislation to impose tougher sanctions against premises that sell alcohol to a person who is already intoxicated.
• Restrictions on advertising to protect children from being exposed to alcohol promotions
• Zero tolerance of drink driving

Shadow Health Secretary Jackie Baillie commented: "We need to consider radical measures to reduce the level of problem drinking but minimum unit pricing is not the answer. The big winners from the SNP's scheme would be the supermarkets and big brewers who would get a £90 million windfall.

"We have created a Commission under the chairmanship of Professor Sally Brown to come up with something better. Any alternative pricing mechanism must provide more money for extra police officers and alcohol treatment.

"I have also asked the Commission to examine the effectiveness of a range of other measures including a legal limit on the level of caffeine in alcoholic drinks, Alcohol Treatment and Testing Orders and a mandatory Challenge 25 scheme."