Ireland set to introduce alcohol restrictions

The Irish government has approved plans to introduce a minimum price for alcohol, in an attempt to curb the country’s alcohol consumption.

The Public Health (Alcohol) Bill, which will come before parliament later this month, also places restrictions on the promotion of alcoholic products, including a ban on advertising near schools and train stations.

The proposals establish a legal minimum price of €0.10 per gram of alcohol, meaning a bottle of wine could not be sold for less than around €7.60.

The government hopes the bill will reduce Ireland’s consumption of alcohol, which is one of the highest in Europe. Health Minister Leo Varadkar commented that: “Ireland needs to change its damaging attitude to alcohol. Four out of ten drinkers typically engage in binge drinking.”

Scotland introduced a minimum alcohol price in 2012, becoming the first country within the EU to do so.

Evgeny Yakovlev has written for IZA World of Labor about alcoholism and mortality in the traditionally heavy-drinking countries of Eastern Europe, and the different policies which may be used to address the problem. He writes that: “Various regulatory measures, such as taxation, sales restrictions, licensing, advertisement control, and drinking age limits, have been effective in lowering alcohol consumption. Over-regulation, however, may lead to a rise in the consumption of homemade and surrogate alcohol.”

Read more on this story at the Irish Times and Euractiv.

Related article:
Alcoholism and mortality in Eastern Europe by Evgeny Yakovlev
Find more IZA World of Labor articles about health