Drinks industry says call for tax hike ‘blunt instrument’

The drinks industry has hit back at calls from campaigners for a rise in excise duty on alcohol — saying it would hit a struggling sector and not impact on misuse.

A representative body for manufacturers, distributors and certain retailers said increasing the price of alcohol by higher taxation was a “blunt instrument”.

It said its main effect would be to drive consumers away from “safer drinking environments like the pub” to large multiple retailers, such as supermarkets, which sell cheap alcohol.