NHS Health Scotland have published a report that evaluates the impact of the
Alcohol etc (Scotland) Act on off-trade alcohol sales in Scotland.
The report found the introduction of the Act, which included a ban on multi-buy promotions, was associated with an overall 2.6% decrease in off-trade alcohol sales, largely driven by a 4% decline in off-trade wine sales.
The Act was also associated with an 8.5% decline in pre-mixed alcohol beverages, although these account for a very small proportion of the overall off-trade market.
The Act, implemented in Scotland on 1st October 2011, included a ban on quantity based discounts and restrictions on the display and promotion of alcohol in Scotland’s off-trade. The evaluation used time-series analyses of data for a 52-week period post-implementation and a comparison with England & Wales, and states in its conclusion:
"...the results from this study suggest that the introduction of the Alcohol Act reduced off-trade alcohol sales in Scotland, largely driven by a statistically significant decrease in off-trade wine sales [4%). The Act was also associated with reduced RTD [Ready to Drink] sales, although these account for a very small proportion of total off-trade sales. Similar changes were not observed in England & Wales, where the Act does not apply, which lends weight to the hypothesis that the changes witnessed in Scotland were as a result of the Act rather than due to other unmeasured factors."
See here for BBC news and Herald reports.
Further work evaluating Scotland's strategy to reduce alcohol misuse is available through the Monitoring and Evaluating Scotland’s Alcohol Strategy (MESAS) 2nd Annual report. A recent legal challenge to Scotland's minimum pricing plans was recently dismissed, althouhg a challenge to the decision is expected.
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