Time could be called on binge drinking for UK holidaymakers in Spain with the country pushing to implement European Union tax rises on alcohol. Health professionals are urging Spanish government officials to increase the price of alcoholic drinks and raise the legal drinking age, in a draft bill aimed at preventing underage drinking.
Included is a plan to hike prices of alcoholic drinks, including wine and beer, in an attempt to call last orders on drink-fuelled tourism. Minimum excise duty rates for alcohol products have not been updated across the EU since 1992.
This means that current rules “have not kept pace with inflation, the evolution of the market, consumption patterns or growing public health concerns," the European Commission has said. It has called for a response on current excise duty rates for alcohol with many nations favouring an increase.
