THE Scotch whisky industry, like those GPs who wrote yesterday (Letters, July 12), recognises that alcohol misuse causes many real problems to families and communities in the UK, and in Scotland in particular. The industry remains a willing and committed partner in tackling these problems.
The study the GPs refer to in their letter focuses on the link between socio-economic status and harm, and shows that alcohol-related harms remain higher among those in disadvantaged communities. However, a number of other relevant factors connected to the life chances of people living in disadvantaged communities – such as nutrition, stress and access to healthcare – were not taken into account.
The Scotch whisky industry does not support the introduction of minimum pricing, because we believe that the problems described by the GPs are complex and deserve multi-faceted response from government, the health sector, the voluntary sector and the industry itself. We believe that fixing a minimum price for alcohol is too simplistic a tool.
In our view, the best approach is to design policies and interventions that are specific to alcohol-related problems where they arise. The industry has had some success in this area, including through our support to a number of projects which tailor interventions to known problems. The industry is currently working with many organisations across Scotland – from Glasgow to Orkney and from Islay to Fife – addressing issues from Foetal Alcohol Syndrome to underage drinking and impacts within families of alcoholism. We remain very open to working with partners in government or outside government on such projects into the future.
Karen Betts,
CEO, Scotch Whisky Association,
Quartermile 2, 2 Lister Square, Edinburgh.
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