The University of Sheffield's independent report into the effects of minimum pricing measures in Scotland has been released, showing the potential impact of pricing measures on alcohol-related health and social harms. A BBC news story highlighted that a minimum price could save Scotland £950m over 10 years.
Minimum pricing works by setting a lower price limit per unit, reducing the affordability of cheap alcohol products such as high-strength lagers and ciders and preventing 'loss-leading' as an option for retailers. In Scotland a 40p per unit minimum price would be expected to cost a moderate drinker £11 extra a year, whereas a heavy drinker would be hit by an extra £137 a year.
According to the report, key outcomes of a 40p minimum price together with a total off-trade discount ban in Scotland would result in an estimated:
- reduction in consumption of alcohol of 5.4%
- reduction of around 6,300 hospital admissions per year
- reductions in direct health (NHS) costs at £21m per year
- decreased crime valued at £1.9m per annum.
- reduction of 29,000 days absence per annum in the workplace.
Dr Petra Meier from the University of Sheffield said:
"The results suggest that minimum pricing can
bring considerable health and social benefits and lead to significant
financial savings in the NHS and the criminal justice system.
"Our
results also show that minimum pricing would affect harmful drinkers
far more than moderate drinkers. Of course, heavy drinkers buy much
more alcohol in the first place, but detailed analysis of data on
purchasing patterns also shows that they tend to prefer buying the
cheap alcohol targeted by the policy.
The full findings of the research are summarised here on the University of Sheffield website.
The SNP have been reportedly moving towards taking pricing measures to help address the impact of alcohol misuse and stark levels of alcohol-related deaths. Pricing measures are recognised as an effective policy in reducing alcohol-related harm, as recently demonstrated by the World Health Organisation's alcohol strategy guidance.
The University of Sheffield have already provided figures showing the impact of minimum pricing in England, which were followed by calls from the Chief Medical Officer and health and charity organisations to adopt the measures. However the proposals did not appear popular with the general public and were rejected by Gordon Brown. Opposition leader David Cameron recently proposed tax hikes on specific drinks to address 'unbelievably low prices of some alcohol'.
A poll on Alcohol Focus Scotland currently shows only 35% support for minimum pricing measures.
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