Some letters sent on behalf of the Council to the Western Mail

Greed and alcohol misuse make for a lethal combination

I feel every sympathy with the JD Wetherspoon chain of pubs in their attempt, as John Hastings from the Beer and Pub Association puts it “to stay in business, keep jobs in our sector and compete in a very competitive market”. Pub owners must be in despair trying to compete in a no-win situation with the main sponsors of binge drinking in this country, the supermarkets, whose invidious marketing strategy of deliberately under-pricing alcohol products is intended to make us drink more, as alcohol becomes even more normalised. I wish however, that John Hutson, Wetherspoon’s chief executive could have been as honest in his statement. He justified selling beer at 99p per pint “indefinitely” in their 713 outlets across the UK as helping people in the face of economic downturn “to enjoy a visit to a Wetherspoon pub without it costing them too much”.

Alcohol, however, is already costing his customers and this country too much – and it’s costing them much more than money. Pricing drinks at 1989 levels could cause more people to drink too much and end up in hospital. Greed and alcohol misuse make for a lethal combination.

Recent figures obtained by the Liberal Democrat MP Paul Burstow show that hospital admissions for alcoholic liver disease among the 18 - 40 age group, have more than doubled in less than 10 years with 6,495 patients entering hospital in 2006-07 as opposed to 2,967 in 1997-98. Behind these alarming figures for young men and women are huge human and financial costs. £2.7bn a year is the financial cost to the NHS, whilst in human misery, the hidden harm to young families and friends - and the social problems caused to society in general - are incalculable.

According to the Welsh Assembly Government’s Substance Misuse Strategy, half of men and a third of women in Wales report alcohol consumption above recommended guidelines, with 1 in 4 men and 1 in 10 women reportedly binge drinking. It is no coincidence therefore that alcohol related deaths in Wales have doubled in the last fifteen years. 1,100 people die each year in Wales from alcohol-related illnesses.

Government research has concluded that the best way to tackle the problem is to raise the cost of alcohol. 7% of the total population drink a third of all alcohol products consumed in this country during one year. Studies estimate that a tax rise of 2p above the rate of inflation would, over a 5 year period, save 3250 lives, because increasing the cost of alcohol directly targets this vulnerable 7%.

And what does JD Wetherspoon do? It reduces the cost of alcohol to this very same group when cost prices across the industry were already 65% lower in real terms than in 1980. How many more will die, therefore, as a result of Wetherspoon’s greed?

1. When Society Becomes Addicted
2. Greed and alcohol misuse make for a lethal combination
3. Misuse of Alcohol
4. A confused listener
5. When a young man gets drunk before going to a party