The latest data on alcohol sales shows total UK alcohol consumption increased in 2015, confirming the end of the downward trend as anticipated last year.
Media headlines included the Herald's 'Supermarkets blamed for rise in Scots alcohol consumption', and the BBC's Scotland now 'a nation of home drinkers'.
Scotland's consumption levels remain significantly higher than England and Wales, with an additional 20% made up almost exclusively from supermarket and off-trade sales, particularly spirits. The analysis forms part of Scotland's evaluation of its alcohol strategy, with sales data a more accurate indication of actual consumption than self-report surveys.
Minimum pricing to determine future trend... and policy?
Consumption levels are of course central to alcohol policy debates, with overall population consumption associated with the level of alcohol problems. As such, those opposed to control policies such as pricing and availability have been keen to highlight the downward trend over the previous period, driven largely by a decline in drinking amongst young people. However the overall trend of rising alcohol-related hospital admissions now appear to be slowing, playing catch up with the period of declining consumption.
As the data shows though, rising consumption is associated with the growth in off-sales where prices have remained flat and around half of all units are sold at 50 pence or less - the minimum unit pricing (MUP) level sought in Scotland. Advocates of MUP have no doubt that curbing the cheapest off trade drinks is crucial in reducing harm, with Sheffield research indicating MUP targets the heaviest drinkers rather than 'punishing responsible drinkers'. The verdict of the long ongoing Scottish MUP battle though may be just a matter of weeks away. Its implications may not only be significant for future consumption trends in Scotland, but for the other UK nation's MUP policies.
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