Sales down since ban on drink deals

The new law, which came into effect on October 1, was introduced to crack down on bulk-buy deals and target Scotland's alcohol-related health and disorder problems.

Before its introduction, between January and September this year, wine sales in Scotland were up 1%, spirits up 1% and beer sales down 3%, compared to the previous year, according to Neilsen's figures.

They also measured sales in England and Wales over the eight-week period since the ban was introduced and found sales of wine down by 4%, spirits by 1% and beer sales up by 1%.

The figures were welcomed by the SNP, which hailed the results as proof the ban was working.

Bob Doris, deputy convener of the Scottish Parliament's Health Committee, said: "These early statistics show the ban on multi-buy deals is working.

"It is extremely encouraging to see wine falling by 5%, spirits by 3% and especially beer by 8% during the first eight weeks of the ban.

"The SNP is committed to tackling Scotland's unhealthy relationship with alcohol, which is why these statistics should be welcomed across the country."

However, analysts warned that a number of factors can affect how much alcohol people buy.

Gavin Humphreys, of Neilsen, said: "While we cannot categorically attribute all the declines in Scotland purely to the multi-buy ban, it does appear that the measure has had an impact.

"There will be other factors at play influencing shopper behaviour, such as the economy and general cutting back and stretching of budgets.

"But if the measure was designed to cut consumption then the immediate sales figures suggest it is working."

The ban, which is aimed primarily at the 10% of Scottish drinkers who consume 45% of alcohol which is sold, was introduced under the Alcohol Scotland Act, which also restricts advertising around premises and includes age verification checks and a new tax on some licence holders.

Dr John Holmes, from Sheffield University, advised the Scottish Government on the new legislation and claimed that the figures were "encouraging".

Dr Holmes said: "A huge amount is being consumed by a small proportion of people, so if you can enact policies which hit the consumption of those drinkers, you can have a huge impact on alcohol-related harm.

"The figures are encouraging from a public health perspective and the policies that the Scottish Government has put in to place to reduce the supply of cheap alcohol may be having some effect."

The Scottish Labour Party also welcomed the news, but warned that more needs to be done to target retailers using loopholes to continue to offer cheap alcohol.

Dr Richard Simpson, Labour's shadow Public Health Minister, said: "This research is encouraging and suggests that targeted action on irresponsible promotions can have a positive and, hopefully, lasting impact on Scotland's damaging relationship with alcohol.

"However, it is concerning that too many retailers are still flaunting loopholes in the legislation and offering discounts on multi-packs that run completely counter to the spirit of the legislation."

The Scottish Government hopes to go further in tackling alcohol abuse by introducing minimum pricing, which would see prices set at a minimum of 45p per unit.

Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon announced plans to re-introduce the proposals last month after a first attempt by the SNP to push through a similar proposal failed.

Mr Doris added: "There is no silver-bullet solution but minimum pricing, combined with the measures already introduced, is a big step to improving our country."

However, Richard Dodd, of the Scottish Retail Consortium, suggested that the figures do not prove Scots are buying less alcohol. He said: "The fact that less alcohol has been sold in Scotland doesn't mean that Scots are buying or consuming less alcohol. They may be buying online or travelling out of Scotland to buy alcohol."