Germany considers emulating new Scottish regulations on alcohol pricing
BERLIN - Germany may follow the recent example of Scotland by altering its own regulations for minimum alcohol pricing, the federal government announced here Friday.
"If we want less people in Germany to become addicted to alcohol and less youths to drink themselves unconscious, policymakers and society will have to work together," Marlene Mortler, the government's official drugs commissioner, told Funke media group.
"We cannot just sit back and wait, but must instead continue to explore appropriate possible solutions for Germany," she said.
The drugs expert complained alcohol was "far too omnipresent" in German everyday life, arguing that "low cost alcohol" at "discounter prices" only allowed consumers to become intoxicated quickly and could hence not be justified on the grounds of responsible consumption.
As of May 1, the Scottish government has enacted a law which will set a minimum price for all alcoholic products in an attempt to reduce cases of alcohol-related disease and mortality.
Raphael Gassmann, president of the German Center for the Control of Drug Abuse, said in an interview with Funke Friday that minimum pricing was the first step to lowering overall alcohol consumption and was therefore needed in Germany as well.
"Whoever wants to reduce alcohol consumption must ensure that excessively low prices for alcoholic beverages are raised in Germany," Gassmann argued.
The expert pointed to studies which had demonstrated empirically that there was a strong inverse correlation between the popular levels of alcohol consumption and the costs thereof.
Similarly, Kai Kolpatzik, an addiction expert at the Federal Association of AOK health insurance funds, urged Berlin to adopt a regime similar to the one established in Scotland.
"Germany is one of the countries with the highest levels of alcohol consumption in the world. As a consequence, I would recommend devoting more thought to higher alcohol pricing here as well," Kolpatzik said.
