Minimum unit pricing (MUP) has had little economic impact on Scotland’s drinks industry, a report has found.
A report commissioned by Public Health Scotland has found no significant economic harm to businesses due to MUP as feared earlier. The research, carried out by Frontier Economics, found the policy did lower the volume sold of certain types of alcohol.
The research found no reports of store closures or job losses directly related to MUP, and suggested that the economic impact of lower volume sales were offset by the higher value of sales, BBC reported.
“There were one or two individual smaller or specialist retailers who perceived that MUP had reduced their revenues or profits or limited opportunities for growth, though not to an extent that affected staffing or store viability, while others reported no impact,” the report said.
MUP, which placed a minimum charge of 50p on each unit of alcohol, has been in force since 2018 following a protracted legal battle. Concerns were raised ahead of its enforcement about its impact on the alcoholic drinks industry.
Public health minister Maree Todd said the latest research suggested the policy had succeeded in lowering consumption of the types of alcohol most often linked with harmful drinking, without damaging Scotland’s alcohol industry.
“Alcohol harms cause misery for not just the drinker but also for families, friends and the wider community, but we recognise that it is often a consequence of wider societal issues which is why we are doing all we can to help people get the support they need.”
However, the Scotch Whisky Association, which mounted a legal challenge to the law, said the research was one part of an “overall evaluation”, and it would await its completion before drawing any conclusions.
A spokeswoman for the organisation said: “We continue to work in partnership with a range of stakeholders to promote responsible drinking and to tackle alcohol-related harm.”
The report was the latest in a series commissioned by Public Health Scotland (PHS) to evaluate the success of the policy.
Previous research found that in supermarkets the average price of a unit of alcohol increased by 18 per cent, with ciders and own brand spirits seeing the biggest increases.
In convenience stores, sales of large multipacks of lager and cider declined, but sales of smaller multipacks increased, as did sales of the Buckfast tonic wine which saw a small decrease in price.
Another previous study for PHS found little evidence that people with the worst alcohol dependence had changed their behaviour.
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