MINIMUM PRICING FOR ALCOHOL IN SCOTLAND
INTRODUCTION
I am a Health Policy Researcher for the Scottish Parliament. I have been asked to prepare a
report making a recommendation to MSP' s on whether or not they should reconsider
supporting minimum pricing for alcohol in Scotland.
The background to this proposal is ..... .
In 2010, the Scottish Government put a bill forward to the Scottish Parliament to introduce a
minimum pricing policy on alcohol in Scotland of 45p per unit. The Scottish Government
believes that minimum pricing on alcohol would reduce the number of alcohol related crimes.
It would do this by making strong alcohol more expensive to obtain. The Scottish Parliament
rejected this bill by 76 votes to 49 in November 2010; therefore as yet, it has not become
law.
ARGUMENTS FOR
Research has shown that minimum alcohol pricing reduces alcohol consumption and also
has shown that alcohol related hospital admissions are up by 20% in the last 10 years.
Alcohol also has a major impact on crime levels in Scotland and 3/4 of young offenders have
been drunk when they have committed their crime. Another argument is that alcohol is now
much cheaper than it used to be relative to people's earnings. It was much more affordable
in 2000 than it was in 1990 (source 2). As the price of alcohol has fallen, consumption has
significantly increased. There is concern that something needs to be done to reduce the
level of alcohol related illnesses and crime in Scotland (source 3). Research has also shown
that increasing the price of alcohol does not tend to lower its consumption levels and that
several hundred related deaths every year could be avoided as a consequence. These are
some statements people have put in during their interviews "I sometimes drink a bottle of
cider with my friends at the weekend. We save up our left over dinner money and have a
bottle between us, because it is really cheap. If it becomes more expensive to buy strong
cider, we'll just get something cheaper like wine. I know it has much less alcohol in it, but it’s
still alcohol". Here is another "Scotland has tackled the smoking problem head on, which
was the biggest cause of ill health in Scotland. It is now time we took on the second largest
health issue and tackle excessive alcohol consumption head on. Minimum alcohol pricing is
a positive step in the right direction".
ARGUMENTS AGAINST
The Government's proposals to introduce minimum alcohol pricing are a punishment for
sensible drinkers and also many people who drink heavily will just accept increased costs.
Unlike smokers, drinkers do not affect anyone else's health in a negative way. It’s just an
excuse for Governments and shop salesmen to make more money. One of the solutions to
stop people drinking is making it harder for them to get hold of it reducing licensing hours in
Scotland has done this. The Scottish Government should be worrying about the real drug
takers. They should be tackling the growing heroin problem in Scotland. Many heavy drug
users turn to burglary and crime to fund their habit, which has a much more serious impact
on society than a few people who have a wee bit too much to drink. Making alcohol a little
more expensive is not a solution for these people. They need money spent on proper
support to help them reduce their drinking, not more money taken from them. Already,
people cannot buy alcohol in shops after 10 pm, and the opening times in pubs are much
more tightly controlled. Here is an example from an interview "Minimum alcohol pricing won't
penalize sensible drinkers, who tend to buy low priced high strength alcohol anyway". Here
is another "I never drink cheap wine or lager anyway, so it won't make any difference to me".
The Government must look at alternative solutions, as the current plans to introduce
minimum alcohol pricing risk making the gap between rich and poor greater than it already is
in Scotland.
CONCLUSION
Having examined the evidence, I would recommend the minimum pricing for alcohol to be
introduced. My reason for this is that if the price of alcohol is increased then people will be
unable to afford to buy great quantities of alcohol, which could possibly affect their health
and create more strain on the NHS through alcohol related illnesses.