The Government is set to come under increased pressure to introduce minimum unit pricing (MUP) for alcohol products here, following a new study today showing the measure in Scotland has been successful in reducing the amount of drink purchased.
The effects were greatest in households that bought the most alcohol, suggesting the policy "has achieved its ambition to make relatively cheap and strong alcohol less affordable, which in turn should positively impact public health over time", say the researchers.
In May 2018, Scotland became the first country in the world to introduce a national minimum pricing policy, according to the 'British Medical Journal'.
To test whether the policy is already having an effect, researchers led by Peter Anderson at Newcastle University set out to assess the impact of MUP on alcohol purchases in Scotland in the eight months immediately after implementation.
Their findings are based on shopping data for 2015-18 from 5,325 Scottish households, compared with 54,807 English households as controls, and 10,040 households in northern England to control for potential cross-border effects.
Source: Eilish O'Reagan, 26/09/19
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