The news, and the skews, in the national media
Imposing piffling tariffs only targets the poor and looks like the paternalistic meddling of a bourgeois elite that thinks it is okay to sit at home with a bottle of chablis so long as the plebs can’t get loaded on cheap cider and smash up the town centre. As if the rich can take their drink but the poor cannot.
Giles Coren, Times, 18 November
It is not the price of alcohol that has to change, but social attitudes to drinking. But that would be too difficult – a meaningless gesture like this is far more grandiose.
Jan Moir, Mail, 17 November
Cost of beer, cider and whisky to ROCKET after ruling hikes prices by 25%
Star headline, 15 November
We basically tell people with this chronic illness we might be able to help you initiate your recovery, but then you are on your own. Good luck! The journey to long-term recovery for the leading cause of death for those under 50 in America shouldn’t have to be all luck. It’s up to all of us to get involved.
Greg Williams, Guardian, 4 November
Scots get set for ‘booze cruises’ into England as Supreme Court clears the way for minimum alcohol prices.
Mail headline, 16 November
We believe minimum pricing will help in the fight against the scourge of alcohol abuse. It is not certain. It will be judged by results. But the overwhelming feeling among those taking an interest in the matter is that it must be tried… Wearying statistics tell us Scotland has long led the way on alcohol abuse. It is now, we are happy to say, leading the way on tackling it.
Herald Scotland editorial, 16 November
The Scottish government and the supreme court have now shown that public health considerations do not have to take second place to market, competition or any other factors: they have merit in their own right. Westminster should take note.
Mary Dejevsky, Guardian, 16 November
It’s time to shift away from a drug policy framework that’s dripping with moralism while utterly lacking humanity and effectiveness. The evidence is utterly clear on this: making drug use illegal doesn’t stop people doing it, and doesn’t protect them from harm. Make no mistake, prohibition kills and a refusal to change direction at this juncture is unforgivable. Caroline Lucas MP, Independent, 2 November