Call to increase alcohol MUP in Scotland

Alcohol prices in Scotland may see a rise as Federation Of Independent Retailers (NFRN) is backing the call for increase in minimum unit pricing of alcohol in Scotland, four years after the landmark ruling by Supreme Court introducing the MUP in the country. 

Both Alcohol Focus Scotland (AFS) and Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems (SHAAP) have called for an increase in MUP.

In a letter to Scotland’s cabinet secretary for health Humza Yousaf MSP and public health minister Maree Todd MSP, the campaigners have recommended the Scottish government to increase the current price of 50p per unit to 65p. 

Signed by leading health and children’s charities and Royal Colleges, the letter highlights that while the initial findings from the Public Health Scotland evaluation have been positive, the impact of a 50p MUP is likely to have been significantly eroded by inflation.

MUP came into force in 2018. In the two years following, there was a reduction in alcohol consumption and decreases in hospital admissions from alcohol-related liver conditions, NFRN said. Scotland also saw a 10 per cent decrease in the number of alcohol-specific deaths in 2019. Unfortunately, probably due to changing drinking patterns during the pandemic, deaths rose by a devastating 17 per cent in 2020.

Blantyre retailer and national deputy vice president of the NFRN, Shahid Razzaq, said, “These figures are quite shocking. While MUP proved to be very successful initially, it is clear that it needs to be reviewed and acted on by government to address this worrying trend and we fully support the proposed increase.”

The campaigners emphasise that the Scottish government could save and improve more lives by increasing the minimum price. The original modelling of MUP calculated that setting a higher price will deliver greater benefits – a price of 60p per unit was predicted to save twice as many lives and hospital admissions as 50p per unit, while 70p was expected to deliver three times the effect.