Laurence Dollimore
SPAIN is the EU country most affected by the sale of fake alcohol.
The EU Intellectual Property Office estimates its local producers lose €263 million every year thanks to the introduction of counterfeits into the market.
In Spain, legitimate producers lose around €173 million a year on alcoholic beverages and €90 million a year on wine.
The trend also affects jobs and tax revenues, according to the EU’s Intellectual Property Office’s 8th report on the economic costs of fake products, which was released late July.
Spain heads the list of countries with the biggest job losses in absolute terms losing around 1,000 in a year.
The report also notes that states lose millions as a result of unpaid VAT or Social Security contributions, which in Spain amounts to €90 million.
While counterfeit production is difficult to detect and its implications difficult to analyse, it is estimated the EU as a whole has lost an annual average of €3 billion euros between 2008 and 2013.
The countries most affected after Spain are Italy, Germany and France.
Spain has been damaged the most because it has the highest number of businesses specialising in alcohol and wine with some 3,700.
Those poor, hoodwinked bar and restaurant owners. Taken in by unscrupulous liquor vendors.
Stefanjo they were not hoodwinked, they knew what they were purchasing, cheap liquor and if they didn’t they should not be running a bar or a restaurant. Perhaps the one’s that had been hoodwinked were the bar etc clients.
In 2013 alone, tobacco and alcohol killed 120 X more people in America than all the other illegal drugs combined .
This was supposed to be the good quality, regulated by standard alcohol, one can only imagine what the boot-legged back of a lorry, dodgy stuff would do to one’s insides – Yuk.
I personally think that the majority of people (whether it be Guiri’s or locals) are absolutely crazy to hammer the amount of booze that they do in the hot sub-tropical sun.
Unfortunately most people are either stupid or ignorant when it comes to alcohol and consumption, alcohol is a very dangerous intoxicant or drug, highly addictive and extremely dangerous to the body, mind and society ( drunken aggressiveness etc ).
If anyone doubts or questions what I have said about alcohol than visit any hospice or hospital in the UK and you will witness first hand the misery that alcohol can cause. There are plenty of people on their death beds due to alcohol abuse and related issues.
Well said Roberto,
but you should have cited the same for Spain, where alcoholism is never mentioned but is just as widespread as in the UK, France and the whole of Eastern Europe.
The legalised drug barons of alcohol and nicotine control the political whores, so don’t expect change any time soon.
Should I change from Cognac and Spanish brandy to Whisky as this article does not mention UK as a source of fake alcohol?
Unfortunately drinks based on malt do not taste me well.
The source of fake alcohol is likely to be a still in a warehouse on an industrial estate in Spain Wolfgang. The label can as easily say”whiskey” as anything else. The crap has probably been distilled then coloured from the Spanish wine lake. Ethanol is tasteless and has no colour, it’s all added later.
Excuse me. I meant odourless. Of course pure alcohol has a taste, or more like, a burn.