From 1st October new laws come into operation in Scotland aimed at tackling the country’s culture of alcohol abuse. Supermarkets will no longer be able to sell multi-purchase deals. Drink promotions will no longer be allowed outside the alcohol sale sections. An age verification scheme is to be introduced for all licensed premises.

The Scottish government’s legislative programme on alcohol will continue with the controversial policy of minimum pricing, which many health experts consider essential to combat alcohol abuse.

There is a widespread recognition of the stress alcohol problems place on health care in particular. For instance, on just a single day in April a BMA study found that general practices had to deal with no less than 5,500 alcohol-related consultations.

A recent government report estimated that Scotland’s alcohol-related healthcare costs come in at around £268.8 million per annum; while the financial cost of premature deaths is estimated to be around £1.46 billion per annum; and alcohol’s overall cost to Scottish tax payers is in the region of £3.56 billion per year, equivalent to 10% of the Scottish parliament’s entire £33 billion budget, or £900 for every adult in the country.
The same report also estimated that the number of “hazardous adult drinkers”, men drinking more than 21 units per week and women drinking more than 14 units per week, was around a million, a fifth of the Scottish population.
The number of “harmful adult drinkers” – men consuming more than 50 units per week and women more than 35 units per week – is estimated to be around 141,000 men and 88,000 women.
NHS Scotland published another report which showed that alcohol consumption is now 23% higher in Scotland than in England – the widest difference on record. The same survey showed that on average Scottish adults consume 22.8 units of alcohol per week.

According to the chairman of BMA Scotland, Dr Brian Keighley, the culture of drinking to excess is “no longer sustainable” in Scotland.”

Dr Keighley said: ‘In Scotland, the government has embraced the BMA’s policies on tackling alcohol misuse and has already legislated to improve licensing and end promotions to encourage bulk buying of alcohol in supermarkets,” adding, “it is essential that this parliament supports new legislation to introduce a minimum price for alcohol in Scotland. Sensible drinking begins with sensible pricing.’