SNP’S alcohol policy fails to curb drinking
Research shows minimum unit pricing had negative effect later condemned as a ‘failed experiment’
The SNP’S policy on a minimum price for alcohol has failed to curb problem drinking but forced alcoholics to go without food, a major study has found. Scotland became the first country in the world to introduce minimum unit pricing for alcohol in May 2018 but researchers from Sheffield and Newcastle universities found “no clear evidence” that it dissuaded alcoholics from drinking. In some cases, heavy drinkers spent up to 29 per cent less on food, utility bills and other items.
A FLAGSHIP SNP health policy failed to curb problem drinking but forced alcoholics to go without food, a major study has found.
Scotland became the first country in the world to introduce minimum unit pricing (MUP) for alcohol in May 2018, currently fixed at 50p per unit.
But in a report on the effectiveness of the policy, researchers from Sheffield and Newcastle universities found “no clear evidence” it dissuaded alcoholics from drinking.
In some cases, heavy drinkers spent up to 29 per cent less on food, utility bills and other items, according to data from 100,000 participants. The average total spending on alcohol in this group increased by nearly 30 per cent, from £83 to £107 per week.
Findings from 170 interviews showed the policy drove alcoholics to borrow money from family and friends, pawn possessions, run down savings and rely on food banks or other forms of charity.
In 2016, Nicola Sturgeon called the policy “a vital public health measure”, “with strong support from those who work in frontline of alcohol misuse”.
“It will save lives,” the First Minister wrote on Twitter the day after Scottish courts agreed to back the policy, after four years of legal challenges from the Scotch Whisky Association.
The report, published by Public Health Scotland, said those with alcohol dependence “received little support or information before the policy was rolled out”. Its conclusions read: “There is no clear evidence that this [MUP] led to reduced alcohol consumption or changes in the severity of alcohol dependence among people drinking at harmful levels. There is some evidence it increased financial strain among some economically vulnerable groups.”
The report said there was no “clear evidence” the policy led to an increase in criminality and drug use.
The Institute of Economic Affairs, a free market think tank, said the findings would be the “final nail in the coffin of minimum unit pricing”. Christopher Snowdon, the institute’s head of lifestyle economics, said: “The Scottish Government will try to put a brave face on it, but there is now little doubt that minimum pricing has been a failed experiment that has cost Scottish consumers £270 million.”
Prof John Holmes, from the University of Sheffield, who led the overall study, said although MUP was effective in reducing overall sales, those with alcohol dependence responded “in very different ways”.
He added: “Some reduced their spending on other things but others switched to lower strength drinks or simply bought less alcohol.
“It is important that alcohol treatment services and other organisations find ways to support those who do have financial problems, particularly as inflation rises.”
Helen Chung Patterson, public health intelligence adviser at Public Health Scotland, said the research “develops our understanding of and insights into this important population and how they have responded” to MUP.
“People who drink at harmful levels, and particularly those with alcohol dependence, are a diverse group with complex needs who often experience multiple interacting health and social problems,” she said.
A Scottish Government spokesman said they would “carefully consider the findings”. They said in the year after MUP was introduced, there was a 2 per cent decrease in off-trade alcohol sales and a 10 per cent decrease in alcohol specific deaths in 2019.
They added that statistics for 2020 showed alcohol-specific deaths had increased by 17 per cent in Scotland.