Impose higher tax on spirits, advisor tells MPs

A tax on alcohol should be applied in accordance with its strength to crackdown on preloading, an alcohol advisor told MPs at Parliament yesterday.

Professor Philippe De Witte, chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board of the European Foundation for Alcohol Research, explained that because people preload at home, an easy deterrent would be to have a higher tax on spirits.

Speaking at the All Parliamentary Beer Group meeting, he said: "When people drink spirits at home, they are more likely to pour more alcohol and less mixer. So what could be easier is to relate the price to strength? So for a 40% bottle, the tax would be four or six times more than for a 5% drink."

Witte also raised the issue of RTDs and spirits and mixers. He said a young person's brain finds it harder to understand that what they are drinking is alcoholic because the taste is not the same as having a beer or whisky.

"What is important is the amount of alcohol you drink, and the danger is greater with spirits," said Witte.

"With beer, you put on weight, so spirits and mixers are preferred, especially by girls and women."

A number of MPs suggested that encouraging young people to play sport could help deter them from heavy drinking.

However, others said that many sports clubs rely heavily on support from bars, with brandings on football tops, for example.

Drinkaware chief executive Chris Sorek agreed. He said: "One of the things that we have found is that pubs that support sports teams is where young people learn how to drink, and it's where they are more likey to start drinking."