IEA: Early signs suggest minimum unit pricing is not having a positive effect on health
19 September 2019
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Commenting on figures presented to the British Association for the Study of the Liver (BASL) conference in Glasgow on the impact of minimum unit pricing in Scotland, Christopher Snowdon, Head of Lifestyle Economics at the Institute of Economic Affairs, said:
“These claims are based on unpublished research and do not reflect the trends in Scotland under minimum pricing. Official statistics show that alcohol-related deaths rose from 1,120 in 2017 to 1,136 in 2018. As well, there was no decline in alcohol sales from shops and supermarkets in the first year.
“There is no doubt that Scottish drinkers are having to spend more money under minimum pricing, but it is too early to say whether it has had any positive effect on health. The early signs suggest not.”
Notes to editors:
For media enquiries please contact Emma Revell, Communications Manager: 07931 698 246
The alcohol-related death figures were published by the National Records of Scotland in June.
For further IEA reading on minimum alcohol pricing, click here.
The mission of the Institute of Economic Affairs is to improve understanding of the fundamental institutions of a free society by analysing and expounding the role of markets in solving economic and social problems.
The IEA is a registered educational charity and independent of all political parties
“These claims are based on unpublished research and do not reflect the trends in Scotland under minimum pricing. Official statistics show that alcohol-related deaths rose from 1,120 in 2017 to 1,136 in 2018. As well, there was no decline in alcohol sales from shops and supermarkets in the first year.
“There is no doubt that Scottish drinkers are having to spend more money under minimum pricing, but it is too early to say whether it has had any positive effect on health. The early signs suggest not.”
Notes to editors:
For media enquiries please contact Emma Revell, Communications Manager: 07931 698 246
The alcohol-related death figures were published by the National Records of Scotland in June.
For further IEA reading on minimum alcohol pricing, click here.
The mission of the Institute of Economic Affairs is to improve understanding of the fundamental institutions of a free society by analysing and expounding the role of markets in solving economic and social problems.
The IEA is a registered educational charity and independent of all political parties
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