THE Scottish Government has been “resting on the laurels” of Minimum Unit Pricing and must take tougher action on alcohol marketing and improving support services if it is to turn the tide on death statistics, campaigners have said.
Last week, figures showed alcohol deaths had reached a 15-year high in Scotland with 1277 recorded in 2023, an increase of one from 2022.
The statistics additionally showed alcohol-specific deaths were four-and-a-half times as high in the most deprived areas of Scotland compared to the least deprived areas in 2023, with areas such as Inverclyde and Glasgow City recording an above-average number.
The mortality rate for those aged 65 and over has now reached the highest level since the National Records of Scotland began recording the data in 1994.
In the wake of the statistics, opposition parties were quick to suggest the SNP’s Minimum Unit Pricing policy – implemented in 2018 – had “failed”.
Justina Murray, chief executive of Scottish Families Affected by Alcohol and Drugs, said she disagreed but stressed the policy had “underdelivered” because of a failure to uprate it fast enough and it not being combined with other preventative measures.
She told the Sunday National: “I feel like the Scottish Government is resting on the laurels of Minimum Unit Pricing which was originally proposed in 2012 and they’re still banging on about it being their great flagship.
“They’ve gone from being a global alcohol policy leader at that point to then saying a lot of stuff, saying they’re going to do something about marketing and availability and treatment, but that has really just been words.
“It was never supposed to be the only policy and I think that’s been the failing. Even when it was introduced, it was never going to have the impact it was supposed to because it was six years out of date in terms of the price point. Pricing, availability and marketing are supposed to be looked at together.
“I feel like we’ve not even made a dent in this massive issue. So much focus is on drug deaths, and that is an enormous issue for Scotland, but way more people have died from alcohol and yet it just doesn’t seem to get that same traction.”
Minimum Unit Pricing was held up in the courts for six years because of a legal challenge led by the Scotch Whisky Association, so by the time the policy was implemented, the unit price should really have been set at 58p rather than 50p.
It is anticipated that when it is hiked up to 65p at the end of this month, we should see a change in the number of alcohol-specific deaths, as happened when the policy was brought in.
However, it has been stressed – including by the Scottish Government itself – that it will never be a silver bullet on its own.
Laura Mahon (above), deputy chief executive at Alcohol Focus Scotland, said she would like to see a return of the public health supplement - which was a tax on large retailers selling alcohol and tobacco that existed in Scotland until 2015 – as well as moves made to restrict marketing.
She said: “We need to see the Government standing firm on the commitments it has made and not being intimidated.
“We’ve had delays to the restrictions on alcohol marketing, but we can’t just keep kicking that down the road.”
She went on: “We did some work with Fraser of Allander Institute to look at [how] if they were to introduce a public health supplement for alcohol on the same basis as the previous one, it would raise around £57m a year.
“So at a time when we’re facing significant budget pressures, this offers a way of bringing back money into the public purse for the treatment and support we really need to get in place.”
In a statement last Thursday, Health Secretary Neil Gray (above) said Public Health Scotland will review the evidence collected so far on alcohol marketing, which Alcohol Focus says means it will be impossible for the Scottish Government to deliver any measures on marketing during the course of this parliament.
Another huge concern among charities and experts is how alcohol support services in the community have become merged with drug services, which has also been replicated in the Scottish Government now having a combined national mission for tackling alcohol and drug issues.
Alcohol Focus says there has been a 40% drop in people accessing specialist alcohol services in the last decade.
Andrea Mohan, a public health researcher at the University of Dundee, said: “In recent years, alcohol and drugs services in a lot of areas have merged and because there’s been a real focus on drug deaths, which I completely understand, that’s I think one of the reasons alcohol has been ignored.
“A lot of healthcare professionals who I’ve spoken to who work at these services will tell you the same thing, that drugs have taken the priority in the past few years because of this focus on drug deaths. We do have services that focus specifically on alcohol but I think they are getting fewer.”
Mahon said the merging of alcohol and drugs services is "effectively austerity", adding it was vital the Scottish Government invests in specialist support services that are easily accessible.
“Tacking alcohol onto a mission that was initially about something else really doesn’t cut it in terms of a proportionate response,” said Mahon.
“I think alcohol harm and alcohol problems are a really different beast to drug problems. Alcohol is a completely normalised, legal, highly promoted substance in our culture and so the stigma is completely different.
“We really need recovery-orientated, person-centred, trauma-informed support and we need it to be available where people can easily access it, so in their communities, GP practices, in settings they are already comfortable to attend.
“We know there’s a lot of people with alcohol problems who would be quite intimidated by the thought of going to a drug and alcohol service.”
The Scottish Government has said it is continuing to treat alcohol as a public health emergency but Murray said its actions are not reflecting those words.
“We’ve declared a public health emergency but we’re not investing in support services,” she said.
“We need action on availability, marketing, treatment and support. We’ve said we’re going to do it, the Alcohol Framework in 2018 said it, but practically none of it has been delivered.
“We need to fight this on all fronts.”
Health Secretary Neil Gray said: "My condolences go to all those affected by the loss of a loved one through alcohol and drugs. We will continue to do all we can to reduce harm and deaths and to ensure people with problematic alcohol use continue to receive the same quality of care as those with problematic drug use.
"Research commended by internationally renowned public health experts estimated that our world-leading Minimum Unit Pricing policy has saved hundreds of lives, likely averted hundreds of alcohol-attributable hospital admissions and contributed to tackling health inequalities.
"The forthcoming price increase to 65p per unit which takes account of inflation, was selected as we seek to continue and increase the positive effects of the policy.
"We have made a record £112 million available to Alcohol and Drug Partnerships, who are taking a wide range of measures including investing in alcohol treatment services, such as the innovative Managed Alcohol Programme pilot in Glasgow and continuing to engage with stakeholders on reducing children and young people’s exposure to alcohol marketing.
"As I have set out, we will shortly commission Public Health Scotland to carry out a review of the evidence for the range of options that are available on alcohol marketing to support the potential delivery of further actions to reduce alcohol harm.”
