Monitoring and Evaluating Scotland’s Alcohol Strategy (MESAS)

An updated analysis of data on alcohol sales and price in Scotland and England & Wales has been released as part of the evaluation of Scotland's alcohol strategy.

The analysis explores alcohol sales data to profile drinks sold at relatively lower prices, reflecting the Scottish Government's intentions over minimum pricing. In 2009 the University of Sheffield modeled the potential impact of minimum pricing for Scotland, now outlined as a key Government priority.

The analysis includes trends in per adult consumption estimates based on alcohol sales data for 1994-2009 and summary information regarding the price at which off-trade alcohol was sold. The briefing paper includes information highlighting:

• Retail sales data indicate that in 2010, 11.8L of pure alcohol were sold per adult in Scotland (22.8 units per adult per week) compared with 10.7L in 1994, an increase of 11%. Most of this increase occurred between 1994 and 2005, with a broadly stable trend thereafter.
• In England & Wales, per adult sales increased from 9.6L in 1994 to a peak of 10.5L in 2005, decreasing slightly each year thereafter to 9.6L in 2010 (18.5 units per adult per week)
• In Scotland, on-trade sales of pure alcohol decreased by 28% from 5.5L in 1994 to 3.9L in 2010, whereas off-trade sales increased by 52% over the same time period, from 5.2L in 1994 to 7.9L in 2010. It is estimated that about two-thirds (67%) of all pure alcohol sold in Scotland in 2010 was sold through the off-trade.
• The decline in on-trade sales of pure alcohol per adult in Scotland between 1994 and 2010 was driven by a 35% decline in on-trade beer sales (from 3.2L to 2.1L); the upward trend in off-trade sales per adult was driven by a more than twofold increase in off-trade wine sales (from 1.0L to 2.6L).
• Higher off-trade sales were common across the entire price distribution in Scotland and across most drink types. However, this was particularly marked in the 30-44.9ppu range and for spirits, especially vodka.

See the Scottish Government's alcohol page and NHS Health Scotland alcohol page.