Why drinkers are good for the economy

DRINKERS put more than twice as much money into public services as they cost, according to a study.

It found that far from being a drain on the NHS, police and welfare system, they subsidise these services to the tune of £6.5billion a year through alcohol taxes.

The study by the Institute of Economic Affairs think-tank said: ‘The Government could halve all forms of alcohol duty and still receive more in tax than it spends dealing with alcohol-related problems.’

Campaigners against alcohol often cite a 2003 Whitehall estimate of £20billion a year as the cost of drinking to the country.

But the IEA said this was based on irrelevant figures and misleading statistics, confusing costs to individuals and businesses with costs to the state.

The author of yesterday’s study, Christopher Snowdon, calculated that the cost to state services of alcohol use – for example, dealing with drink-related crime or injuries – is just under £4billion a year. However, taxes on alcohol raise more than £10billion.

Mr Snowdon added: ‘It is time to stop pretending drinkers are a burden on taxpayers. Drinkers are taxpayers and they pay billions of pounds more than they cost.’