Plans to ban cheap alcohol and end tobacco branding will be unveiled by ministers this week

[The Straight Story]

Plans to ban cheap alcohol and end tobacco branding will be unveiled by ministers this week

Andrew Lansley said yesterday that supermarkets would no longer be allowed to sell drink at below cost prices.

The Health Secretary also confirmed the Coalition may follow Australia in forcing tobacco firms to use plain packets instead of branded ones.

In another initiative, children who walk to school could get ‘reward points’ that can be converted into shopping vouchers or cinema tickets.

Ministers are worried by the links between cut-price alcohol and illness, violence and anti-social behaviour.

‘We are going to ban the below cost sales of alcohol because we do have to have a combination here,’ Mr Lansley said.

‘We have to have action by Government to ensure that things that are impacting damagingly on people’s health are prevented.’


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1333971/Ministers-unveil-plans-ban-cheap-alcohol-end-tobacco-branding.html#ixzz17BVWadwo

freedom. I don't think that word means what some people think it does.

[enlightenment]

1. Well, it might spur increased sales at pubs -

despite the rather outrageous tariffs on drink there. The combination of high tariffs, cut-price supermarket booze has really cut into pub sales . . . I hate seeing the demise of the local.

Better still if they'd loosen the draconian restrictions on tobacco use in pubs - but I don't suppose that will happen.

[Initech]

2. Reward points????

:wtf:

[lunatica]

3. Prohibition doesn't work. We literally had to write a Constitutional Amendment

to nullify it because Prohibition was an Amendment itself.