ALCOHOL POLICY – CAN WE LEARN FROM
HISTORY?
NDSAG Annual Conference 2013
Dr James Nicholls – Research Manager, Alcohol Research UK
“Where alcohol is concerned, history is often
appealed to but rarely accurately…”
Lesson #1
British drinking cultures are not static
Changing culture
18th century – port, coffee, tea and spirits popularised; elite male
hard drinking culture; gin drinking among urban poor
19th century – rise of temperance across social groups; diversification
of beer and pub trade; peak in consumption of all drinks c.1880
Early 20th century – steep decline in consumption; reduction in pubgoing; alternative leisure activities
Mid-to-late 20th century – introduction of lager; rise in wine
consumption; increased home drinking; development of NTEs; peak
in consumption c. 2004
House of Commons Health Committee (2010) Alcohol
HC151-I, 14
House of Commons Health Committee (2012) DH Written Evidence (GAS 01)
Royal Commission on Licensing
(1929-31)
‘Drunkenness has gone out of
fashion …’
We should ‘get the beer
drinking habit instilled into
thousands, almost millions, of
young men who do not at
present know the taste of beer.’
Sir Edgar Sanders - Chairman of
Brewers Society (1933)
Source: BBPA Statistical Handbook 2010
Source: Health Committee – Alcohol 2010
Source: BBPA Statistical Handbook, 2010
Lesson #2
Policy can influence culture
Policy and culture
Licensing deregulation
Gin retail 1690; Beer Houses 1830; wine retail 1860; off-trade 1961
Licensing restrictions
Permitted hours 1916
Pricing interventions
Spirits duty cut 1825; wine duty cut 1860; duties increased from 1910;
Other interventions
Resale Price Maintenance abolished 1964; Beer Orders 1990; local
regeneration policies 1990s +
Royal Commission on Licensing
(1929-31)
What works…
Further reduction of outlets
‘Pub improvement’
Education in schools
Controls on advertising
Health Committee Inquiry into
Alcohol (2010)
‘The alcohol problem in this country reflects
a failure of will and competence on the part
of Government departments and quangos.
In the past Governments have had a large
influence on alcohol consumption … Alcohol
is no ordinary commodity and its regulation is
an ancient function of Government.’
Lesson #3
Policy impacts are unpredictable
Unpredictable outcomes
1736 De facto prohibition of gin
Contempt for law; black markets; public disorder
1830 Beer Act
Development of ‘gin palaces’
1860 Treat of Commerce / Refreshment Houses Act
Additive effect, rather than switching
1990 Beer Orders
Big Six replaced by … Big Six
2003 Licensing Act
Neither café culture nor ‘Binge Britain’?
Lesson #4
Industry is powerful, but not unified
A disunited ‘Trade’
1830 Beer Act
Small retailers v big brewers
1860 Treat of Commerce / Refreshment Houses Act
Brewers (and temperance…) v wine merchants
MUP / ‘Beer duty escalator’
BBPA v WSTA; Greene King v Wetherspoons
NB: Industry doesn’t always get what it wants (and it doesn’t
always want the same thing…)
Recurring themes
An ‘ordinary commodity’?
‘Punishing the sensible majority’
The Great British Pub?
Consensus and polarisation
Key points
Drinking culture is dynamic – we are not simply ‘a nation of
boozers’
Policy can influence culture – ‘culture’ is not divorced from price,
availability etc.
Policy impacts are unpredictable – history is important part of the
evidence base
Alcohol policy is about fundamental principles:
•What is the ‘value’ of alcohol?
•What are the limits of the ‘harm principle’?
•What is the proper relationship between the state and the market?