Business Day’s article quoting SAB CEO Richard Rivett-Carnac frames minimum unit pricing as a threat to the poor, yet the real threat is the torrent of cheap, supersized beer flooding low-income communities (“Minimum pricing on booze will fuel illegal market, says SAB boss”, August 7).
Even if SAB’s own estimate is right and illicit alcohol represents about a fifth of the market, the lion’s share of harm still stems from legally produced liquor. One quart of Castle Lager, priced per litre at half the cost of smaller bottles, already carries enough pure alcohol to push some drivers over the legal limit, suggesting deliberate pricing tactics that encourage excessive consumption.
International evidence shows minimum unit pricing reduces heavy drinking where it matters most: among poorer households, whose alcohol-related mortality is higher than in wealthier areas. Scotland and Wales have seen measurable health gains — without the collapse in tax revenue the industry predicts.
Legal alcohol sales in SA continue to grow, hardly the sign of an industry under siege from the illicit market. Oversupply, not price reform, is what punishes the poor.
David Harrison
CEO, DG Murray Trust
JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Send us an email with your comments to letters@businesslive.co.za. Letters of more than 200 words may be edited for length. Anonymous correspondence will not be published. Writers should include a daytime telephone number.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.