The Scottish Government has confirmed the minimum unit pricing for alcohol will increase from 50 pence to 65 pence.
Scotland became the first country to regulate the price at which alcoholic drink could be sold when they introduced the Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP) policy in May 2018.
The purpose of MUP is to reduce alcohol-related deaths in Scotland. They are higher on average than any other region of the United Kingdom.
The current Minimum Unit Pricing is set to expire in April 2024. Scottish ministers have been consulting on raising it to 65 pence per unit.
If the proposed MUP increase is approved by the Scottish parliament, it shall take effect in September 2024.
Research into public attitudes, published in September 2023, found that 43 per cent of the 1,818 respondents approve of MUP. 38 per cent were against it and 18 per cent were neutral.
Public Health Scotland and University of Glasgow research estimated the MUP policy helped decrease alcohol-related deaths by 13.4- 15.6 per cent annually.
There are some questions raised by the effectiveness of MUP. Scotland had 1,276 alcohol-related deaths in 2022, a two per cent increase from 2021.
“We believe the proposals strike a reasonable balance between public health benefits and any effects on the alcoholic drinks market and impact on consumers,” said Deputy First Minister Shona Robison.
“Evidence suggests there has not been a significant impact on business and industry as a whole.
“Alongside MUP, we will continue to invest in treatment and a wide range of other measures, including funding for Alcohol and Drug Partnerships which rose to £112 million in 2023-24.”
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I am a third-year Politics and Journalism Studies student at the University of Stirling (2022-) and a writer and sub-editor for the Brig for over a year (Nov. 2023-), focusing mainly on political topics.
