The volume of alcohol sold per adult in Scotland in 2018 has fallen to its lowest level since 1994.
The first expert analysis of data, just over a year since Scotland became the first country in the world to introduce minimum unit pricing, shows a 3% fall in alcohol sales per adult in Scotland from the previous year.
The volume of alcohol sold per adult in Scotland, compared to England and Wales, represented the smallest gap since 2002.
Results of the NHS Health Scotland Monitoring and Evaluating Scotland’s Alcohol Strategy (MESAS) programme found that the volume of alcohol sold per adult in Scotland was 9% higher than in England and Wales, where 9.1 litres was sold per adult.
On 1 May 2018 Scotland brought into force legislation setting a minimum 50 pence per unit price to tackle the harm caused by cheap, high strength alcohol.
Health Secretary Jeane Freeman said: “This is a promising start following our world-leading action to introduce minimum unit pricing, and with this 3% fall we are moving in the right direction.
“There are, on average, 22 alcohol-specific deaths every week in Scotland, and 683 hospital admissions, and behind every one of these statistics is a person, a family, and a community badly affected by alcohol harm.
“Given the clear and proven link between consumption and harm, minimum unit pricing is the most effective and efficient way to tackle the cheap, high strength alcohol that causes so much harm to so many families.”
Significant inequalities persist in alcohol consumption and the harm it causes in Scotland. Mean weekly consumption is highest in the lowest income group, and in 2017 alcohol-specific death rates were seven times higher in the most deprived areas in Scotland, compared to the least deprived.
Lucie Giles, Public Health Intelligence Adviser, at NHS Health Scotland said: “With the implementation of minimum unit pricing in May 2018 we’ve seen a substantial fall in the volume of alcohol being sold at very low prices, along with the biggest rise in the average price of alcohol sold through supermarkets and off-licences in a decade.
“The report also shows that population level alcohol consumption, based on sales, is at an all-time low in Scotland. Since 2010, per adult sales of alcohol from supermarkets and off-licences have declined overall in Scotland, while since 2013 they have been rising in England & Wales. From the data in this report it’s not possible to quantify the full contribution of MUP on alcohol prices and sales, but these are encouraging early indicators.
“We know that alcohol remains a significant public health issue and people in our poorest areas continue to experience the most harm. This is unfair and it is preventable, like all harm caused by alcohol.
“By monitoring and evaluating Scotland’s alcohol strategy, we can continue to gauge progress, and understand what works to reduce the harm it causes”.
NHS Health Scotland leads the extensive independent monitoring and evaluation programme for minimum unit pricing (MESAS).The MESAS report is published by NHS Health Scotland.
Minimum Unit Pricing was implemented in May 2018.
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