www.alkoholpolitik.ch

Islamic Gov’t Denies Religious Motivation
Turkey’s Islamist-rooted conservative government introduced another 30% tax hike on alcohol in late October, drawing protests from drinkers, cafe owners and beverage producers.
The price of alcoholic beverages has shot up 129% since the Justice and Development Party (AKP) came to power eight years ago. By contrast, the Consumer Price Index rose 79% during the same period.
A one-litre bottle of raki now costs about $35. That’s a lot to pay in a country where the minimum annual wage is around $400 and the average monthly income is around $1000. More and more Turks are opting for beer and wine, which are cheaper than the traditional raki.
“There has been a 34% decrease in alcohol consumption from 2003 to 2008,” reports a study by the Bahcesehir University’s research centre BETAM. “Parallel to the tax hikes, sale prices are increasing and consumption is decreasing.” BETAM’s study shows that the government successfully boosted its revenues by almost 50% in the last seven years by imposing and consistently increasing the Special Consumption Tax on alcoholic beverages…. (Source: Google Alcohol News,11/20/10) weaselzippers.us, 11/19/10 our Online-Comment: Most of the people commenting here didn’t understand the result of the tax rise: Consumption of alcoholic beverages went down 34%! We could have the same effect in Europe if our governments would have the courage to do the same. And we would also save a lot of money for alcohol-related social costs and enjoy more quality of life. But Europeans are not informed and cannot protest when the governments are under the pressure of the alcohol industry. That’s our „freedom“!