Hardly a week goes by without scientists and health professionals telling us how bad alcohol is for our health. And, in this age of information for all, surely few can claim ignorance of the serious health problems – cancer, liver disease and diabetes – directly linked to high alcohol consumption. Scotland’s particularly unhealthy relationship with alcohol is also news to no one.
With this in mind, the downward trend in the amount of alcohol sold per adult in Scotland noted over the last few years, suggesting change – at last – in this destructive relationship, was welcomed across the board.
Unfortunately, this change seems to have stalled. According to the latest NHS data the trend dramatically reversed in 2014, with the year marking the highest alcohol sales since records began in 1994. This is a disappointing and worrying development to say the least, particularly since the amounts of drink in question will be shocking to many; adult Scots purchased the equivalent of 41 bottles of vodka or 114 bottles of wine in a year. The fact this is a fifth more than people in England and Wales gives extra cause for concern.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the vast majority of this alcohol was bought in supermarkets and off-licences rather than pubs and clubs. We have known for some time societal changes mean drinking at home has become the norm, mainly due to cost: while the cost of drinking in bars, pubs and restaurants is increasing, the price in shops remained static at 52p per unit.
The statistics tell an even more worrying story when one digs beneath the surface: more than half of the alcohol sold in off-trade cost below 50p per unit, meaning it was of the high-strength variety that causes so much damage to individuals and communities across Scotland.
It is no surprise, then, that the controversial issue of minimum alcohol pricing comes to the fore once again. The Scottish Government believes these latest figures strengthen its case for introducing the policy; it has been trying to do so for years, claiming the link between cheap booze and increased consumption means state intervention is both right and necessary. The drinks industry disagrees, of course, and has so far been successful in keeping the policy off the statute books through lengthy legal challenges.
At the end of last year, the European courts returned the issue to the Scottish courts and it will be interesting to see whether this latest worrying data has a bearing on their final decision.
We should point out it’s not all bad news. Public health figures in Glasgow, for example, suggest many young people are rejecting the unhealthy alcohol consumption of their parents and grandparents. It is also possible these latest alcohol sales figures are a blip – after all, they had been consistently coming down for a number of years, especially as information about the dangers of middle-aged, middle-class drinking at home sunk in.
But with an average of 22 people dying in Scotland due to drink every week, there is clearly no room for complacency: the case for minimum pricing legislation is strong. Whether the courts agree remains to be seen.
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