Latest Findings alcohol bulletins: Canadian experience supports minimum pricing evidence; Scotland exceeds brief intervention target

Recent bulletins from the drug and alcohol bank:

Real-world Canadian evidence supports minimum alcohol pricing
Mathematical models for Britain predict that high minimum per unit alcohol pricing would substantially reduce consumption, but are consumers and markets that predictable? From British Columbia in Canada, real-world support for this first step in the chain expected to lead to improved public health and productivity and reduced crime.

Minimum price for alcohol has reduced consumption
Further and arguably stronger Canadian evidence from Saskatchewan of the real-world impact of something close to minimum per unit alcohol pricing applied more consistently to more beverage types and at a higher level than in British Columbia.

Scotland exceeds national brief alcohol interventions target
In three years from 2008 Scottish national policy drove delivery of nearly 175,000 brief alcohol interventions, testament to what can be done when policy is backed by funding and infrastructure and incentive payments contingent on implementation. Leverage and acceptance were greatest in primary care, where the vast majority of the work took place.