Fall in alcohol consumption in Scotland 'stalls' after minimum pricing

The drop in alcohol consumption in Scotland has stalled after an initial reduction sparked by minimum unit pricing (MUP), official data suggests.

Public Health Scotland's report said the equivalent of 9.9 litres of alcohol was sold to every adult in 2019.

That represents an average of 19 units per adult per week - still five units above government recommendations.

MUP was introduced in Scotland on 1 May 2018 and was credited with cutting sales to the lowest levels since 1994.

It targeted low-cost, high-strength products, seen as a source of problem drinking, by setting a minimum unit price of 50p per unit of alcohol.

But the latest report says there has been no further drop-off since year one of the regulations - while the number of deaths caused by alcohol continues to rise.

The volume of pure alcohol sold in Scotland was also 9% higher than in England and Wales, although that was the smallest difference since 2002.

Public Health Scotland said the latest figures showed "encouraging trends" since the introduction of MUP.

However, it pointed out that alcohol continues to be a leading cause of illness and early death - especially in the most deprived areas.

In 2018, a total of 1,136 people in Scotland died due to a cause wholly attributable to alcohol.

Rates of alcohol-specific death were substantially higher in the most deprived areas of Scotland, compared to the least deprived.

Lucie Giles, public health intelligence principal at Public Health Scotland, said: "The most recent survey data shows that nearly a quarter of adults exceeded the revised low-risk weekly drinking guidelines.

"An average of 22 people per week are still dying as a result of their alcohol consumption and again this is not spread evenly throughout the population.

"Those in the most deprived areas are more likely to be hospitalised or die because of an alcohol-related cause. Like all harm caused by alcohol, this is preventable."

Other findings in the report showed that the average price of alcohol sold in Scottish supermarkets and off-licences rose to 62p per unit in 2019. That was up from 59p per unit in 2018.

In England and Wales, the average price of off-trade alcohol rose from 56p per unit to 57p per unit over the same timeframe.