No cheer as pint hits a tipping point

Once it had its sums corrected – a miscalculated claim that duty on alcohol has risen 324% in a decade has now been replaced by a more modest figure after investigation and interrogation by the Guernsey Press – the association says the industry is reaching a ‘tipping point’ over the cost of a drink.

It warned that drink in local venues was ‘becoming unattainable to some’ and was perceived as very expensive by visitors. Which raises the point, do you drink at home or drink when out? Balance the cost – say, for the sake of easy maths – £6 in a bar for a pint as against £1 for a supermarket can. Surely it’s no contest? But then, why do we drink? To socialise? Or just to drink?

Isn’t the duty on that can the same as on that poured pint? So who’s driving the cost of drinking? And going back to visitors, do they come to Guernsey for ‘cheap booze’? Because along with the fags, that ship sailed some years ago.

So is the policy of pursuing what is effectively a ‘health tax’ on alcohol duty the right one? That is supposed to be part of a wider discussion about changing consumption patterns and minimum unit pricing – a debate which it seems can’t come quickly enough for the visitor economy.