Health / Findings of minimum alcohol unit pricing study encouraging, local development officer says
NHS Shetland’s alcohol and drug development officer says the conclusions of a new report on the impact of minimum unit pricing (MUP) are “encouraging” – but she added that it is difficult to say how the initiative has affected local people.
Wendy McConnachie said it was “really positive” to see the Public Health Scotland study estimate that in the country there has been a 13.4 per cent reduction in deaths and a 4.1 per cent drop in hospital admissions wholly attributable to alcohol consumption from when MUP was introduced by the Scottish Government in 2018 through to the end of 2020.
The aim of setting a minimum alcohol unit cost of 50p was to make sure drink was sold at a “sensible price”, and to discourage harmful alcohol use especially with cheaper brands.
Dr Grant Wyper, public health intelligence adviser at Public Health Scotland, said the largest reductions were found for males, and for those living in the country’s most deprived areas.
McConnachie said minimum unit pricing as a policy “would have disproportionately affected people in lower income brackets, so it’s reassuring that they have also seen the greatest reduction in harm”.
“However, there are often unintended consequences to policy implementation, and minimum unit pricing is no different,” she added.
“There is evidence that minimum unit pricing further increased inequalities in some instances, by placing increased financial strain on people.
“Some people continued to drink at the same level, which meant they were spending more. This was often funded by borrowing money from family and friends, using pawnbrokers, or spending less on food and utility bills.
“Seventeen per cent of all children in Scotland report living with a parent who exhibits hazardous or harmful drinking behaviours or a dependency.
“So, decreased spending on food and utilities is likely to have affected families as a whole and may be felt more acutely during this cost of living crisis.”
McConnachie said it is hard to definitively say how MUP has impacted people in Shetland, as the data is not broken down to that level.
The number of alcohol-specific deaths in the isles is usually similar, or higher, than drug deaths – a picture which is replicated in Orkney and the Western Isles.
She said as a result “we are really keen to see the level of government investment in this area being increased, as it has in response to drug deaths”.
“Minimum unit pricing appears to be a useful tool in a range of responses, which should include marketing and advertising restrictions, effective licensing policy and good quality services that are adequately funded, with tackling inequalities being front and centre,” McConnachie continued.
Meanwhile the NHS officer said everyone can play a part in reducing the overall use of alcohol, by challenging its use as a normal part of life, whilst also reducing the stigma associated with problematic use.
She said the chief medical officer’s low risk drinking guidelines states that people should drink no more than 14 units of alcohol per week, spread over three or more days. One 440ml tin of Tennent’s lager, for example, is 1.8 units.
McConnachie said these guidelines are “not ‘no risk’, but low risk”.
“Alcohol use increases the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases and several types of cancer, including cancers of the head and neck and breast cancer, so if we want to prevent cancer, cutting down our alcohol use is a really good starting point.
“We would be really interested to hear how people in our community think we can work together to reduce harm from alcohol use.”
There are resources available on the Alcohol Change UK website, including signposting to support services, a tool to help calculate units of alcohol and a quiz to understand the impact that our alcohol use might be having on our health. There are also tips on how to reduce our drinking.
In Shetland support is available from the Substance Misuse Recovery Service at the Lerwick Health Centre (Tel 01595 743006) or the Recovery Hub and Community Network in Pitt Lane (01595 744402).
Both services also provide support for families affected by a loved one’s substance use.
Folk can also visit the Shetland Alcohol and Drug Partnership website for more information.
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