reveals the Institute of Economic Affairs



After a prolonged campaign and a series of court cases, minimum unit pricing for alcohol was introduced in Scotland in May 2018 at a level of 50p per unit.



A new briefing paper by Christopher Snowdon , Head of Lifestyle Economics at the Institute of Economic Affairs, reveals that in the eight months immediately thereafter, alcohol-related mortality fell at the same rate in Scotland as it did in England and Wales (7 per cent).



Alcohol-related hospital admissions rose slightly in Scotland in 2018/19 under minimum pricing.



The median Scottish household (by income) spent an extra £100.88 on alcohol in the first year of minimum pricing while the median income group in England spent an extra £44.20.



Those on below-average incomes have been hit hardest, with those in the bottom income group increasing their expenditure on alcohol by 11 per cent.



Despite early evidence from Scotland suggesting minimum pricing had no impact on alcohol-related deaths and little, if any, impact on alcohol sales, it was nonetheless introduced in Wales in March 2020.



Authored by the IEA’s Head of Lifestyle Economics Christopher

Snowdon

,

s

new data from the Office for National Statistics and National Records of Scotland

to

show the

monthly

alcohol-related mortality

figures

in the eight months

following

the introduction of Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP).

MUP was introduced in Scotland in May 2018 at a level of 50p per unit. The aim was to reduce alcohol-related deaths by reducing alcohol consumption, particularly among heavy drinkers.

MUP was projected to reduce hospital admissions in Scotland by 1,299 per year. In practice, they rose slightly in 2018/19, the financial year in which minimum pricing was in effect for eleven months. There were 38,370 admissions in 2018/19, up from 38,199 in 2017/18.

Aside from shifting demand from cider to fortified wine, MUP’s effect on sales is unclear. If there has been a decline in off-trade sales, it has not been dramatic and it has not resulted in better health outcomes, at least in the short term.

“All in all, this is more evidence that minimum pricing has been an expensive failure.”

For further IEA reading on Minimum Unit Pricing, click

here

.