As an educator of children I have seen the effect of alcopops on teenagers as young as 13 years old. It is so very destructive for developing youth who have not come to terms with the changes occuring in their bodies let alone their minds. What is worse is many parents sanction drinking by allowing teenagers to have parties with alcohol supplied. I know this for a fact (for some reason kids tend to talk to me about these things
). At the risk of being political we need to remember that both alcohol and tabacco producers have powerful lobbies. The effect of the extra tax had shown a sharp decrease in the purchase of these drinks (although no one specifically mentioned youth it would be a reasonable assumption) so why stop it? I am not a wowser in any way, I drink bourbon by the tonne and smoke like the proverbial steam train. If I have to pay an increased tax to feed my addictions so be it as long as it protects our vunerable youth.
Mark