SCOTLAND: MINIMUM ALCOHOL PRICES SET TO INCREASE BY 30% TO COMBAT HEALTH CRISES

Mon 05 February 2024:

Scotland is preparing to raise the lowest price of alcoholic beverages by a significant thirty percent in an effort to address health issues associated to alcohol consumption.

According to the Guardian, ministers in Edinburgh are expected to approve the price hike from 50p to 65p per unit beginning in May, which comes six years after Scotland spearheaded the UK’s implementation of this pricing mechanism.

The proposed 65p minimum unit price is meant to keep up with inflation and maintain control over the sale of inexpensive alcohol. Advocates for public health welcome this, emphasising its potential to improve overall well-being. Under the revised pricing, a standard bottle of whisky in Scotland is expected to cost £18.20 ($22.92), vodka £16.90 ($21.28), and a four-pack of basic lager £4.58 ($5.77).

According to Public Health Scotland, the minimum price on alcohol had a favorable effect last year, as seen by a 13.5% decrease in mortality.

However, the country has seen a worrying 25 per cent rise in alcohol-related deaths in the last three years, coupled with a 40 per cent decline in people seeking alcohol treatment services over a decade.

The Wine and Spirit Trade Association is reportedly planning to argue for the elimination of minimum pricing.

“Targeted measures have significantly greater impact without penalising the vast majority who do drink responsibly,” said the trade association’s consumer affairs director David Richardson.

Willie Rennie, the former leader of Scottish Liberal Democrats and now the party’s economy spokesperson, as per the report expressed his happiness over the move.

A long-time champion of the measure, Rennie said, “More than 20 people a week in Scotland die due to alcohol misuse, so we need to take steps to stop alcohol wrecking lives and communities.”

“That’s before you even get to the pressure that it imposes on our health and justice systems,” he said.

Meanwhile, Scottish Labour supports the policy but suggested an additional alcohol levy on retailers. This levy, they propose, would tax the extra profits retailers make due to minimum pricing, directing the funds towards the NHS and efforts to combat addiction.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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