An evaluation of the flagship public health policy alcohol minimum unit pricing (MUP) has found most people accessing treatment services for their drinking were not offered support to cope with the sharp price hikes brought about by the policy.

Meanwhile researchers found “some evidence” that a significant minority – around one in three – of those who drank heavily reduced spending on other areas of their lives to accommodate the change.

Public Health Minister Maree Todd described the findings as “concerning” and said work was underway to improve access to treatment and recovery services.

Researchers from the University of Sheffield interviewed adults engaging with alcohol treatment services in Scotland and in England, where no such policy in place.

Interviewees were asked about their thoughts on MUP ahead of its introduction and how their behaviour changed once it came into force in May 2018.

The policy, which sets a floor price of 50p per unit of alcohol on sale in shops and supermarkets, has been found to have dramatically reduced the amount of low price, high strength alcoholic drinks on sale.

This was mirrored in the people accessing treatment services, with 62% noticing price changes.

There was little evidence of one early criticism of the policy: that it might prompt heavy drinkers to shift to illegal drugs.

However, the research did uncover a lack of assistance on offer in advance of the price increases to help people cope with the changes.

“Whilst people with alcohol dependence expressed a need for support to prepare for price rises, many were not aware of this support being available to them, and there is an indication that some participants reduced their living expenditure to accommodate higher spending on alcohol,” said Associate Professor Penny Buykx, of Australia’s Newcastle university and the University of Sheffield.

Study leader Professor John Holmes, Director of the Sheffield Alcohol Research Group, added: “These early findings support previous results from the evaluation of MUP in Scotland by showing that the policy has reduced the availability of cheap alcohol, which was often consumed by those at greatest risk of harm from their drinking.

“They also highlight the need for government and health authorities to think about how they can support people with alcohol dependence when alcohol prices increase sharply.”

Helen Chung Patterson, of Public Health Scotland, which commissioned the study, said further research would be published in 2022.

“This early report presents an initial description of the impact of MUP on people who are alcohol dependent," she said.

“It is crucial that we also fully investigate MUP’s impact on alcohol consumption and spending among this group, as well as any further positive or negative secondary effects of the policy.”

Public Health Minister Maree Todd said: “We must remember that those who have alcohol dependency also have complex needs so any support is also likely to be complex.

“Last week, we saw total alcohol sales in 2020 reported as falling to their lowest level for 26 years. We had already seen that alcohol sales were falling since the introduction of our world-leading MUP policy in 2018, and the number of deaths wholly caused by alcohol in 2019 fell by 10% on the previous year.

“These findings are part of a wider study on harmful drinking. We need to see the findings from the other pieces of work before we can draw any conclusions.”

Read more: Scotland records 10,000 alcohol deaths in ten years; Scotland’s minimum alcohol pricing praised by WHO; “Extremely encouraging” drop in alcohol sales

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