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What is alcohol minimum pricing?
Why is minimum pricing being proposed?
How bad is the problem?
Frequently Asked Questions on minimum pricing

What is Alcohol Minimum Pricing?

Alcohol minimum pricing is a policy where a minimum price is set for a unit of alcohol, below which it cannot be sold.

Minimum pricing would not affect every drink – only those which are sold at an unacceptably low price. By introducing a minimum price per unit of alcohol, drinks with a high number of units, which are currently being sold at low prices, will see the greatest change in price.

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Why was minimum pricing proposed in the recent Alcohol etc. (Scotland) Bill?

Minimum pricing was being taken forward as part of a wider framework to rebalance Scotland’s Relationship with Alcohol. The Scottish Government still considers minimum pricing to be the most effective and efficient way of reducing alcohol consumption and hence alcohol-related harm and believes decisive action to address the affordability of alcohol is still required.

Scotland’s levels of harmful drinking are significantly worse than the rest of the UK and there is a strong relationship between price and consumption [1]. Alcohol is now 69% more affordable than in 1980 and consumption has increased by over 19% over the same period [2].

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How bad is the alcohol problem?

The impact of this excessive consumption is estimated to cost Scots £3.56 billion each year, or £900 for every adult in Scotland [3]. Not only does alcohol misuse burden our health service and police - it also has a considerable knock-on effect on our economic potential and on the families devastated by death and illness caused by alcohol. It is also estimated that around 65,000 Scottish children may be affected by parental alcohol misuse [1].

Alcohol misuse is holding Scotland back – preventing us from being all that we can be as individuals, families and as a country. The Scottish Government’s overall goal is a more successful Scotland – a country where everyone has the opportunity to flourish.

As well as addressing the health harms associated with alcohol consumption, minimum pricing can help to change social attitudes towards drinking. The Scottish Social Attitudes Survey [4] showed:

• Two thirds of respondents agreed that drinking is a major part of the Scottish way of life
• Half of male respondents viewed alcohol as a social lubricant
• Younger people are more likely to view drunkenness and binge drinking as acceptable behaviours and less likely to think this could lead to serious long-term health effects
• Perceived social stigma is attached to not drinking
• Half of respondents agreed that alcohol is the drug that causes most problems

There is also significant evidence of the problems that high levels of drinking can cause for Scotland’s communities. For example:

• 95% of respondents to the Scottish Crime and Victimisation Survey [5] considered alcohol abuse in Scotland to be a problem, 65% considered it a big problem
• 49% of Scottish prisoners admitted being drunk at the time of their offence, this figure rises to 76% in young offenders [2]
• It is estimated that 65,000 Scottish children live with a parent with an alcohol problem [1]
• Alcohol is a factor in 1 in 3 divorces [2]

Evidence of the harmful levels of drinking in Scotland

There is extensive evidence showing Scotland’s unhealthy relationship with alcohol. Please see these links for examples:

Graphs showing the increase in consumption and the increased harm. Selected illustrations of the patterns of alcohol consumption:

1. Adult alcohol consumption
2. Health harm 1 – Alcohol related mortality, UK Countries, 1991-2005
3. Health harm 2 - Age-standardised mortality rates for men and women 0-64 years from chronic liver disease and cirrhosis 1970 and 2005 (HfA database)

How much are people in Scotland really drinking? (2008)
Comparing survey estimates with sales data, this review shows that survey underestimation of alcohol consumption has increased (due to larger measures and stronger drinks) and suggests that people in Scotland may be drinking twice as much as surveys have previously reported. It presents survey trends in drinking over the last decade for both adults and children and interprets them in light of their validity. It concludes with recommendations for the improvement of Scottish survey data on alcohol consumption so that they provide a more accurate picture of Scottish drinking.

The human cost of alcohol: doctors speak out (external link)

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Frequently Asked Questions on alcohol minimum pricing

Which drinks will be affected?
Minimum pricing would not affect every drink – only those which are sold at an unacceptably low price, such as cheap spirits and white cider. It is not a tax. The extra money will go to drinks producers and retailers, not the Government.

Why should I pay more for my drink?
Consumption of alcohol is related to the harm it can cause – the more you drink, the greater the risk of health and social problems. Research suggests that higher prices can help to reduce consumption levels and, therefore, the harm to health and social harm. The damage that alcohol can cause not only affects the individual but society as a whole – there are costs linked to increased pressure on health services and the criminal justice system. Minimum pricing could help to reduce these costs, as well as benefiting employers who lose productivity due to the effects of alcohol of their employees.

How would you work out the effect of this on the price of a drink?
At the moment, a two litre plastic bottle of cider (15 units) sells for around £3.08. Under a minimum pricing scheme of, say, 40p per unit, it couldn’t be sold for less than £6.00. It’s easy to work out: 15 units x 40p = £6.00.

Supermarket ‘own brand’ whisky and vodka sells for between £5 and £8 depending on which supermarket you buy it from. This would become £11.20 as a minimum price (28 units x 40p).

Is minimum pricing just another tax?
No. It would be more targeted than a tax because increases in price would be linked to the number of units in a drink, meaning those who drink more would pay more. A tax would not necessarily bring about the required increase in the price of alcohol as traders could avoid passing on the increase to consumers or sell alcohol below-cost.

Who would benefit from alcohol minimum pricing?
People who are drinking at potentially harmful levels are most likely to benefit from the effects of minimum pricing. Almost two thirds of all alcohol-related deaths in Scotland in 2007 were among the most deprived members of society [2]. Minimum pricing for alcohol can therefore have a potentially greater protective effect against alcohol-related harm for people in low income households. Research from Finland shows the potential of higher alcohol prices to protect the most disadvantaged members of society against alcohol-related problems [6].

Will this mean people living in poverty suffer more?
Research shows that people with low income or who are living in deprived areas are more likely to suffer from a long term illness as a result of drinking too much . People who live in the most deprived areas of Scotland are 5 times more likely to die an alcohol-related death than those in the least deprived areas [2]. Minimum pricing can potentially reduce levels of harmful drinking in these groups, meaning the risk of alcohol-related harm would be reduced.

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References

1. Changing Scotland’s Relationship with Alcohol : A discussion paper on our strategic approach (2008) Scottish Government
2. Alcohol Statistics Scotland (2009) ISD
3. The Societal Cost of Alcohol Misuse in Scotland for 2007 Scottish Government
4. Scottish Social Attitudes Survey 2007 (2008) Scottish Government
5. Scottish Crime & Victimisation Survey 2006 (2007) Scottish Government
6. Hertua, K. et al. (2008) Changes in alcohol-related mortality and its socio-economic differences after a large reduction in alcohol prices: a natural experiment based on register data. American Journal of Epidemiology.

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Reviewed 3 March 2011