Alcohol measures seen bittersweet

The chief executive officer of the Foundation for Social Welfare Services has welcomed the new legal age of 17 for alcohol consumption, up from 16, but says it is still not enough.

"The aim is clearly to reduce alcohol abuse but you need a whole package of measures, such as reducing the legal threshold of alcohol in the blood for drivers and a contribution towards educational campaigns by those who make profits on alcohol," Joe Gerada said.

The reaction of the entertainment industry that caters for the 16- to 18-year-old market, has been cooler: 30 per cent of bars in Paceville are worried that a third of their market will be sliced off, according to the Chamber of Small and Medium Enterprise - GRTU.

At the height of summer, up to 60 per cent of the trade in these bars is from 16-year-olds studying English in Malta.

Philip Fenech, president of GRTU's tourism, hospitality and leisure division, said the government wanted to convey a clear message on binge drinking by youths through the alcohol-related measures introduced in Monday's budget.

The duty on the sweet, flashy and fruity alcopops, targeted at the young, has been raised from €0.23 a litre to €0.40. This should push up the price of beverages such as Bacardi Breezer, currently retailing at about €2.50 from a grocer or bottle shop.

Mr Fenech said that being so palatable, alcopops are easy to down by youths and are considered an introduction to alcohol. So the higher tax should act as a deterrent.

But Mr Gerada believes alcopops are not that popular in Malta at the moment and the impact of their increase in price on consumption will be minimal.

His point of view was shared by Richard England, a member of a lobby group of parents concerned about the local alcohol situation, which had made some waves on the legal age of its consumption in the past.

"Two more years, rather than one, on the legal drinking age would have been a safer measure, but half a loaf is better than no bread at all," Prof. England said.

On the other hand, excise duty on spirits has been cut from January 1, a measure aimed at curbing the illicit trade in hard liquor from Sicily, Mr Fenech called this measure positive in that it would counteract the strong element of unfair competition between establishments selling alcohol through the normal channels and those that were not, creating distortions in the market. How certain establishments could afford the heavy discounting has been queried for a while, he added.

But Mr Gerada does not agree with the approach taken by the government: "To stop the illicit trading of alcohol, I would prefer more police intervention than tax reductions.

"Research indicates that the higher the cost of alcohol, the lower the consumption and abuse. So it stands to reason that the opposite would happen if prices dropped. Even the World Health Organisation encourages governments to raise the tax on alcohol to discourage consumption."

The tax on vermouths, ports and wines has gone up - a move Mr Fenech suspects seeks to compensate for the lower tax on spirits, and one Mr Gerada welcomed.

The budget also launched an intensive awareness campaign on the dangers of excessive alcohol use, aimed mainly at youths, and a sum of €100,000 is being earmarked to enforce drinking laws.

"This was news to us," Mr Gerada said, hoping that an agency like Sedqa would be involved in the design and implementation of such a campaign.

He said it has accumulated a lot of experience over the years and it was important that such initiatives were dovetailed with the work already being carried out.