Hospitals see fewer alcohol cases

The number of alcoholrelated emergency hospital admissions has fallen by almost 6,500 in the last 11 years, according to new analysis.

Figures from the Scottish Parliament’s Information Centre (SPICE) show that such admissions have dropped by 16.2 per cent from 39,857 in 2007/08 to 33,366 in 2018-19. The number of emergency admissions to psychiatric units dropped by more than a third during the same period, from 2,117 to 1,335.

It comes after NHS research released in January showed that the volume of pure alcohol sold per person had dropped in Scotland since the introduction of minimum unit pricing. Analysis of offlicence sales over the year following the 50p per unit lower limit being introduced in May 2018 shows a 3.6 per cent drop in the volume of pure alcohol being sold per adult in Scotland, from 7.4 to 7.1 litres.

SNP MSP David Torrance said: “The SNP’S approach to tackling alcohol abuse in Scotland is working and the data suggests that minimum pricing is already saving people’s lives.”