Minimum unit pricing for alcohol linked to ‘significant’ reduction in deaths

Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Minimum unit pricing was introduced to save lives, and this latest report shows it is doing just that Dr Alastair MacGilchrist, Shaap Researchers also found that significant reductions in deaths wholly attributable to alcohol consumption were greatest for men and for those living in the 40% most socio-economically deprived areas of Scotland. “The results published today are therefore very encouraging in addressing this inequality, and the overall scale of preventable harm which affects far too many people.” However, researchers found that MUP was associated with an increase in the rate of deaths and hospitalisations due to short-term conditions caused by alcohol consumption, such as alcohol poisoning, although these findings were not said to be statistically significant. Professor Daniel Mackay, Professor of Public Health Informatics at the School of Health and Wellbeing, University of Glasgow, said: “The methods we’ve used in this study allow us to be confident that the reduction in alcohol health harms we’ve shown is due to the introduction of MUP, rather than some other factor.” Scotland’s Public Health Minister Maree Todd welcomed the study, which comes after previous research estimated that alcohol sales had dropped by 3% after MUP. “We’re determined to do all we can to reduce alcohol-related harm which is one of the most pressing public health challenges that we face in Scotland.” Dr Alastair MacGilchrist, chair of expert clinician partnership at Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems, described MUP as a “progressive policy” and said: “Minimum unit pricing was introduced to save lives, and this latest report shows it is doing just that.”