Scotland’s minimum unit pricing policy to hike the cost of cheap alcohol has been endorsed by the World Health Organization.

A report by the global body says emerging evidence from Scotland and elsewhere shows MUP is an ‘effective’ way to reduce health problems associated with drinking.

However it warns a UK Government decision to scrap annual alcohol duty rises in 2014 likely led to more alcohol-related harm.

The move meant wine, beer and spirits started to become more affordable and deaths linked to alcohol began to rise, according to the WHO.

Scotland is one of eight countries out of the 53 in the WHO’s European region that has some form of minimum pricing rules in place.

Alongside Wales it is the only one to apply the approach across all beverages, meaning alcohol in shops cannot be sold at less than 50p per unit.

Other states with some type of minimum pricing in operate include Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, the Russian Federation, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.

Ireland’s parliament has agreed to bring in the proposals but they have not yet come into force.

Scotland, which passed the law in 2010 but only implemented it in 2018 after an unsuccessful legal challenge by the Scotch Whisky Association, is singled out for praise by the WHO.

It states: ‘There is a robust evidence base supporting [MUP’s] effectiveness at reducing alcohol consumption and harm, particularly in the heaviest drinkers.

‘Emerging evidence from both Scotland and eastern Europe has shown that MUP can be effective in practice across hugely diverse settings.

‘A further advantage of MUP over taxation is that it is likely to be a more effective mechanism for reducing health inequalities as it effectively targets the cheap, high-strength products that drive these inequalities.’

The WHO says the policy works best alongside other taxes on alcohol, arguing that all should increase with inflation so that their value is not eroded over time. The floor price in Scotland was set at 50p in 2010 and has not changed since.

A recent review found that sales of low-cost strong ciders had been hit hardest by MUP, after seeing the biggest price hikes.

Alison Douglas, chief executive of Alcohol Focus Scotland, said: “MUP is estimated to have reduced off-sales in Scotland by 4-5% in its first year of operation. It targets the cheap, high strength drinks favoured by heavier drinkers; some of these products – such as high strength ciders – are no longer stocked in many shops. 

“One of the key benefits of MUP that WHO highlights is that it can help to reduce health inequalities.  It is unfair and unacceptable that Scots living in our poorest communities are more than four times more likely to die, and seven times more likely to be hospitalised, than those in our richest communities.”

Surveys have suggested nearly a million Scots are cutting back their drinking during the pandemic – but a similar number reported drinking more.

Dr Peter Rice, who is chair of Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems and a contributor to the report, said it is still not clear what the long-term impact of covid-19 but added it was vital alcohol regulations are not rolled back.

“SHAAP first proposed MUP in 2007 because our members were seeing the harm from cheap alcohol on a daily basis, and deaths from alcohol had more than doubled from the mid-1990s,” he said.

“Although we’ve had reductions in alcohol-related harms over recent years and we have had encouraging signs of impacts from the implementation of MUP in 2018, there is no room for complacency.”

His colleague Dr Eric Carlin, SHAAP director, added: “The covid-19 crisis has unearthed the huge inequalities that we have in Scotland.

“Alcohol kills far more poor people than well-off and this will continue once we are past this immediate crisis.”

Public Health Minister Joe FitzPatrick said: “We continue to keep the level of minimum price under review, and will consider all relevant emerging evidence.

“A range of factors, including people’s incomes, need to be taken into account when reviewing the level.

“It is the affordability of alcohol that matters and linking MUP solely to inflation may be too simplistic.

“The Scottish Government has, over a number of years, called for a review of the UK alcohol duty system, which we believe should be reformed in order to better reflect product strength.”

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