Scotch Whisky Makers to Appeal Ruling on Minimum Alcohol Prices

[dismal]

Scotch Whisky Makers to Appeal Ruling on Minimum Alcohol Prices
Industry says minimum pricing is incompatible with EU law

Scotch whisky makers will appeal a decision by Scotland’s highest court that a floor on per-unit alcohol prices is legal, marking the latest salvo in a yearslong battle between the alcohol industry and the government.

To combat alcohol abuse, Scotland’s Parliament in May 2012 passed a law establishing a 50-pence floor on per-unit alcohol prices but the measure has since been tied up in court after being attacked by the alcohol industry, which claims it won’t stem heavy drinking but instead force responsible drinkers to pay more, and that any such measure is illegal.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/scotch-...l-ruling-on-minimum-alcohol-prices-1479467661

What are these Scotch Whisky makers thinking?

We know from discussions here this minimum price law will

a) place more money into the hands of scotch whisky makers than selling it at lower prices would
b) cause more money to circulate in the economy, resulting in higher scotch whiskey sales

It's a win-win-win. Maybe the best law ever. Especially since they didn't raise the price so much that it would be disruptive to the economy, like if it were $100 or something nutty like that.

I just can't figure out why scotch makers are against it and people who want less drinking are for it when the reverse is what we should expect. Here.

 

[ZiprHead]

I don't know about Texas but Michigan has a minimum price on all liquors too.

My wife was a bookkeeper/business manager for a guy that had a string of pharmacies. He bought another pharmacy that sold liquor. The hoops she had to jump through to get the liquor license transferred were unreal. She came home literally crying a couple times after dealing with the liquor control commission. She says she'd never do it again.

Seems to me all these hoops are post-prohibition tactics to get organized crime out of the liquor business.

 

[Deepak]

A 50 pence floor on per-unit pricing would be £20 for a liter bottle - how many scotch makers does this really affect?

 

[dismal]

A 50 pence floor on per-unit pricing would be £20 for a liter bottle - how many scotch makers does this really affect?

It affects them all because it gets more money circulating in the economy and their sales go up.