Scottish Government’s Minimum Unit Pricing Law Increased Financial Strain For Alcoholics

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon addresses the Scottish Parliament on changes to COVID-19 restrictions, in Edinburgh, Scotland, on Jan. 25, 2022. (Fraser Bremner - Pool/Getty Images)

A flagship SNP health policy on minimum unit pricing on alcohol failed to deliver and also increased financial strain on those most affected by alcoholism, a study has found.

In 2018, Nicola Sturgeon’s Scottish National Party (SNP) introduced minimum unit pricing (MUP) for alcohol, the first country to do so, which is currently fixed at 50p per unit.

In Scotland, sales of alcohol per adult per week are 17 percent greater than in England and Wales, according to Alcohol Focus Scotland.

This means alcohol can’t legally be sold for lower than that and the more alcohol a drink contains, the stronger it is and therefore the higher the minimum unit price.

“Minimum unit pricing is not a tax; it is a targeted way of making sure alcohol is sold at a sensible price,” the Scottish government wrote at the time, hoping that it would put an end to drinkers buying bottles of cheap, high-strength white cider for as little as 20p per unit.

On Tuesday, Public Health Scotland published the final report from a study that evaluated the impact of MUP on people who drink alcohol at harmful levels, including those dependent on alcohol and those accessing treatment services.

Among those drinking at harmful levels or people with alcohol dependence, the study found no clear evidence of a change in consumption or severity of dependence and that MUP may be “too low currently to produce detectable changes in alcohol consumption among people drinking at harmful levels.”

Findings also showed that some economically vulnerable groups experienced “increased financial strain as the price rises meant they were spending more on alcohol.”

In the study, it was revealed that those with alcohol dependence would just use their existing coping strategies, such as borrowing money or spending less on food or clothing.

It was also found that people with alcohol dependence received little information or support prior to the introduction of MUP, though there “is no clear evidence this led directly to any harmful outcomes.”

The news is a blow to Sturgeon, who has championed the MUP since 2016, saying back then that “we believe minimum unit pricing would save hundreds of lives in coming years and we will continue to vigorously make the case for this policy.”

The free-market think tank Institute of Economic Affairs has criticised the measures saying that “there is little evidence of health and social benefits to offset this cost.”

It argued in May in a report called The Hangover, that most indicators related to alcohol-related health, crime, and employment “have remained similar or worsened since MUP was implemented” and that “there is little evidence of health and social benefits to offset this cost.”

Institute of Economic Affairs Head of Lifestyle Economics Christopher Snowdon told The Telegraph that the report is the “final nail in the coffin” for MUP.

“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,” said Snowdon.