Western Cape Premier Alan Winde has announced the provincial government is urgently considering the introduction of ‘per-unit-of-alcohol’ pricing to curb binge drinking. A Business Day report says minimum unit pricing, which stipulates a floor price for a unit of alcohol, would push up the price of the cheapest products on the market and has been introduced in several countries, including Scotland and Canada.
Winde said it is one of a host of changes to the Western Cape Liquor Act being considered by the provincial government, with the aim to reduce the harm caused by alcohol while incentivising law-abiding businesses. It is also considering tighter controls on the hours during which alcohol may be sold, which would remain in place after the restrictions imposed under the National State of Disaster come to an end.
A study it commissioned found the introduction of a minimum unit price for alcohol would have a bigger effect on binge drinkers than raising taxes, because they tended to drink large amounts of cheap alcohol. The study found that setting the minimum price at R6 per unit of alcohol (in 2019 prices) would cut alcohol consumption by 6.2% among binge drinkers, by 15.5% among other heavy drinkers and by 4.6% among moderate drinkers.
[link url="https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/national/health/2020-10-22-western-cape-considers-minimum-pricing-to-cut-binge-drinking/"]Full Business Day report[/link]