IT is not a matter for debate that Scotland has a troubled relationship with alcohol. Nor should it be argued that there is a readily-available panacea for our ills. But the evidence continues to suggest that inaction cannot be an option, and it is why we believe that the Scottish Government’s plans for introducing a minimum price for alcohol should be implemented as soon as is possible.
A new study carried out in Edinburgh and Glasgow by Edinburgh Napier University, funded by the Chief Scientist Office and the charity Alcohol Research UK, argues that a minimum unit price would reduce the social harm caused by excessive consumption, by curbing problem drinkers’ access to cheap strong ciders and spirits. The researchers found that when alcohol was less affordable heavy drinkers maintained their consumption levels by “trading down” to cheap drinks with a high alcohol content such as white cider and some vodkas. The report argues that the introduction of a minimum price of 50p per unit, as proposed by the Scottish Government, would remove this option, with the price of a bottle of white cider rising from around £1.28 to about £3.75.
The Government believes that minimum pricing, which has yet to be implemented due to a legal challenge led by the Scotch Whisky Association, would contribute to cutting alcohol-related deaths, hospital admissions and crime.
The Herald has consistently supported this policy, but it must form part of a larger overall strategy to reduce alcohol abuse.
There can be no one-size-fits-all solution. Minimum pricing primarily targets those with the least disposable income, often the under-25s; but there are signs that young people are beginning to get the message on drink. The most recent figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), published in February, show that in the UK there was a rise in the proportion of teetotal 16-24-year-olds, from 19 per cent in 2005 to 27 per cent in 2013.
That study also showed that binge-drinking (defined as drinking more than eight units for men and six units for women within one day) has declined among the general population.
However, the ONS figures revealed that those aged over 45 are three times more likely to drink alcohol every day than younger people. More than one in eight (13 per cent) of adults over 45 drink practically every day of the year, compared with just four per cent of those under 45. And alcohol-related illness is still the biggest single cause of death in the under-60s
The problem, then, is multi-faceted, and requires a multi-pronged approach. A minimum unit price for alcohol must be a key weapon in the ongoing battle, although as Nicola Sturgeon has repeatedly stated, it is not a “magic bullet” that will instantly solve the problem. But other approaches, such as education and a concerted campaign to change the whole culture of drinking in Scotland should be pursued with vigour. We owe it to our health service, our criminal courts, and to ourselves.
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