Alcohol pricing legislation saves lives, research suggests

Over the two years and eight months following policy implementation, there was a 13 per cent reduction in deaths from alcohol consumption compared to an estimate, using data from England, of the deaths that would have occurred had the legislation not been implemented. The 13 per cent reduction is equivalent to avoiding around 150 deaths per year.

In May 2018, the Scottish government introduced legislation implementing a minimum price of 50 pence per unit of alcohol (10ml or 8g of pure alcohol). The policy was intended to mostly impact low-cost, high-strength alcohol and to reduce alcohol consumption among the heaviest drinkers. Previous studies indicate that the introduction of the policy reduced alcohol sales by three per cent, with further research suggesting the greatest reductions were in households that purchased the most alcohol before the policy. However, no previous studies have looked at if the policy has led to reductions in alcohol-specific deaths and hospitalisations at the Scottish national level.

Wider evidence on the extent to which MUP has had an impact in Scotland will be provided to members of the Scottish Parliament ahead of the parliamentary vote on the future of MUP in Scotland in 2024.

Dr Grant Wyper, public health intelligence adviser at Public Health Scotland, said, “Scotland has the highest rate of death due to alcohol consumption in the UK, with those living in the most socioeconomically deprived areas in Scotland experiencing death rates more than five times higher compared to those living in the least deprived areas. The minimum unit pricing policy aims to tackle this inequality by reducing alcohol consumption, and therefore harms to health, in the heaviest drinkers who tend to buy the least expensive alcohol. Our findings indicate the policy is having a positive impact on public health - its implementation is associated with fewer alcohol-specific deaths in men and those living in the 40 per cent most deprived areas of Scotland who are disproportionately dying of alcohol-related harms.”