By Alistair Grant

ALCOHOL sales have dropped in Scotland since the introduction of minimum unit pricing, while continuing to rise in England and Wales.

The first analysis of off-trade alcohol sales for the 12 months following the introduction of the flagship policy shows the volume of pure alcohol sold per adult in Scotland fell by 3.6 per cent.

Ministers said the results indicate Scotland is “clearly moving in the right direction, particularly when compared to England and Wales where there was a rise of 3.2%”.

Minimum pricing of 50p per unit was brought into force in May 2018. Scotland was the first country in the world to introduce the move, although other forms of price control exist elsewhere.

Compared to the 12 months which preceded this, the volume of pure alcohol sold per adult in the off-trade in Scotland decreased from 7.4 to 7.1 litres.

This is equivalent to a reduction of 26 units each annually - around 12 pints of average strength beer. But despite the reduction, the sales equate to every adult in Scotland drinking around 27 bottles of vodka a year.

In England & Wales – where minimum pricing has not been implemented – the volume of pure alcohol sold in the off-trade increased from 6.3 to 6.5 litres.

Per adult sales of cider dropped by 18.6% in Scotland as prices rose 13p per unit on average to 56p, while sales of spirits fell by 3.8%, and sales of beer remained relatively stable (down 1.1%).

All three increased in England and Wales over the same period.

Fortified wine – which had no price change from 60p per unit – was the only drink category in which per adult sales in Scotland increased after the implementation of minimum pricing. Sales were up 16.4%.

Beer and spirits both rose 6p per unit on average, to 57p and 58p respectively, while wine jumped by 14p to around 61p.

The findings, published today by NHS Health Scotland, indicate an average rise in price of 5p per unit to 60p immediately following the minimum unit pricing change.

Trends in the north of England were similar to those elsewhere in England and Wales overall, indicating cross-border sales are “unlikely to explain the difference” between Scottish sales and those elsewhere in the UK.

Lucie Giles, public health intelligence advisor at NHS Health Scotland, said the research was encouraging.

She said: “This is the first time we have been able to analyse sales data covering the full year following the introduction of MUP, and it is encouraging that off-trade alcohol sales fell in Scotland following its implementation.

“Today’s findings show that the scale of change varies according to drink category.

“For example, per adult sales of cider saw the greatest decrease, and this was likely to be associated with cider having the greatest relative increase in average sales price, once MUP came into force.

“The analysis of per adult sales data in the North East and North West of England did not provide evidence of substantial cross-border purchasing.”

Public Health Minister Joe FitzPatrick said it was a “promising first full year of data”.

He said: “While the impact of reduced consumption will take a little longer to show, I remain convinced MUP is one of the main drivers in reducing alcohol harm.”

He urged the UK Government to bring in a 9pm watershed for alcohol adverts, or devolve the necessary power to Scotland, saying this would enable further protection from alcohol.