Minimum pricing of alcohol Scotland

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The price of alcohol has written hugely in Scotland under the new increased minimum pricing threshold. What do others think of it?

Personally I am quite irked that my once a week bottle of wine I buy is now about £2 more expensive than it was. I could still buy cheaper cider etc (really cheap junky one) but wouldn't touch the stuff. I only buy a half decent wine as I drink red one and the cheaper ones are full of nasty stuff so it's probably a lot £12 for a bottle I like now.

Alcohol deaths in Scotland have not reduced under the minimum pricing scheme as far as I can seen from the figures and the extra funds raised are not going into the NHS or anything. People that drink heavily will continue to anyway which means less money for their kids if they have any.

This is my view. What do others think?

Couldn't agree more. I was chatting to a corner shop owner about this a whole back and he told me alcohol theft had increased for heavy drinkers priced out. So it's potentially turning troubled people into criminals too.

I really have no strong feelings about the 65p per unit one way or the other. I drink so much less than I did 20 years ago just because i'm older and can't be arsed with hangovers any more. If I am having a bottle of wine it's usually prosecco around £7 - £8 a bottle or a sauvignon blanc at about £8. Yes I think it's gone up since a couple of years ago but what hasn't.

I am more bothered about the side effects of the legislation - no BOGOF cocktail promos as you get in other parts of the UK, no discount for bulk buying 6 bottles of wine, no bottomless brunch offers, last year the M&S advent calendar was giving away small bottles of festive alcohol and that was banned here too.That does feel infantilising and patronising - we can't be trusted here with a free cocktail.

I also think there is an argument that the legislation is very poorly designed as any extra revenue goes into the retailer not the government but pooly designed legislation is pretty much the default position of the SNP.

@DrZaraCarmichael agree with all that too. So many buy 6 bottles get 25% of deals on at the mo for Christmas - but not for us! We are lucky that we are close to the border and can do the Berwick booze run as part of a day out. We are not bit drinkers but always get extra at Christmas.

The bag charges irk me too. Some places are 50p per bag now and none of that money goes to the gov too, all to the retailer.

Another piece if flawed legislation that they doubled down on when it was proven ineffective.

I come from a family that included alcoholics. My brother died from it really and it certainly shortened my dad's life. I don't think cost would have put either of them off. My dad would have just skipped off with his wages for a bender more often leaving my mum and us kids wanting. Addiction is a terrible thing.

I think there has been evidence that the younger group have moved to recreational drugs instead at it's cheaper.

If they had ring fenced the increased cost in some way and used that to support addiction services or the NHS in any way I wouldn't have so much of an issue as you'd be playing a bit of a long game.

Personally I don't really drink but I resent being treated like a naughty child compared to other nations.

Your complaining that your wine has gone up from £4.69 to £6.09? Presuming 12.5%.

If they had ring fenced the increased cost in some way and used that to support addiction services or the NHS in any way I wouldn't have so much of an issue as you'd be playing a bit of a long game.

I think when they started talking about it, that's what most of us assumed would happen. But they fudged it, again, and now the retailers are just enjoying the extra money.

I dont know the answer but they need to do anything up here to put people off drinking if they can. It might not sway the alcoholics who might shoplift or spend this weeks rent on booze but it might make the regular drinkers cut back just a little

It will take years for alcohol related death figures to show the impact.
Liver disease is a ticking time bomb in the UK. Liver deaths have risen hugely in recent years, especially amongst younger people. A recent BBC Panorama programme highlighted the issue.
I believe alcohol sales in Scotland have reduced as a result of minimum pricing, but it will take years before the impact on population health shows in statistics.
This is not an argument you are going to win. There will be more government imposed restrictions to come in the UK.

"A research study using secure data estimated that this policy significantly reduced deaths wholly attributable to alcohol consumption by 13.4%" according to google.

It's not a great drop in deaths AS YET but it will take time to get the full picture.

And yes it's a pain in the arse that we who don't drink much all have to pay more.

However if someone's only buying one bottle of wine a week, £2 extra say isnt going to break the bank.

It's only those buying multiple bottles that'll feel the pinch. So maybe that'll help them realise that, and consider if they have gradually increased their consumption without realising it, and need to see if that's a level they feel comfortable with now or want to make changes.

We have choices.

Thanks lots interesting view points here.

If I could see all the money go to the NHS then i would support it. I have close family members who have died due to their alcohol addiction but I cant see the price increase having stopped them drinking. They moved to the cheapest alcohol options when the cost became prohibitive but consumed just as much alcohol. They didn't want to and couldn't stop drinking sadly. It's left me in no doubt how terrible alcohol addiction can be to not only to the person themselves but those around them.

The wine I would drink would cost nearer £12.50 a bottle not £6.09 and has risen quite a lot. I don't think you can even get a bottle of wine for much under £7 now but maybe wrong. Cheap wine particularly red is full of additives and tastes terrible so I have always tended to buy the slightly dearer stuff. I actually really noticed the increase when I bought alcohol to put away for Christmas and a couple of bottles for gifts the other day. I guess because I bought way more than I normally would do the price increase was pretty noticeable.

I did watch the Panorama binge drinking episode. It was actually such an eye opener and I think a good thing for people to watch. We definitely are a ticking time bomb as a country which is very sad.

I knew we didn't get BOGOF etc in Scotland but had no idea gin calendars etc were not allowed to be sold. I personally only buy chocolate advent calendars and wasn't really aware booze calendars were a thing to be honest. I am not sure stopping people buying them helps much though.

I think it's more noticeable to me as we are not long back from Spain. Wine etc is cheap but they don't seem to have the same issues in Spain with alcohol abuse as we do here which makes me wonder what is the root cause of our issues in the UK 🤔.

Unfortunately my local shops are saying the stealing of alcohol is massively on the rise to. It also seems drugs are a bigger issue with the younger crowds but that's also a ticking time bomb.

It is clear it doesn't deter the committed alcoholics

• but it does seem to impact those who drink less , such that it Prevents new people becoming alcoholic so the impact on health and death will be bigger over a longer time which can only be a good thing

I don't drink much at all and I will definitely keep it to special occasions only now. My DH used to have a glass of wine or a beer with his evening meal maybe 5 times a week, he's cut down to 1 or 2 times. Meanwhile my problem drinker family member just spends less on other things eg food whilst buying the same amount of alcohol. So from what I see it does discourage drinking, but not amongst those who most need to cut back.

But if you're not buying the cheapest wine, then the price increase for you is not due to the minimum unit pricing?

That can only be a good thing.

Hhmm fair point. I assumed it was as the average cost of the wine I prefer has risen by about £2.50 to £3.00 a bottle.

I don’t drink any more so makes no difference to me. I’m undecided as to it’s efficacy but I do think that when kids could buy a huge bottle of cider with more than a weeks worth of safe units for less than a fiver something had to be done

alcohol purchase has gone down cause I now bulk buy my booze at Tesco in England when it’s 25% off 6 bottles or more. It’s a huge saving and almost worth the petrol to go down there. There always seems to be plenty of Scot’s in Carlisle Tesco with their booze filled trolleys rattling.

Thatsnotmyteen thinking about it like that yes your right.

Ieszucks I believe Tescos just over the Scottish border are the busiest and sells the most alcohol in the UK.

early evidence suggests it is reducing hazardous drinking, if anyone is interested to read more:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37263177/
and thanks to those who have pointed out that MUP is not what has put up our mid-range wine prices. Some (not all) of that is tax, which does fund public services.

I buy mine in England. As another poster said, to benefit from 25% off deals etc. I get my Aldi gin in England too. I don’t think our pricing will stop people, I think it will just increase theft.

All the supermarkets are now bagging booze in security cages so I am assuming it is.

I dont think it's ok to effectively write off those who already have alcohol addiction issues. Why isn't the money going into support services, particularly those that address the underlying issues that lead to addiction. Prevention is better than cure in an ideal world, but I think addiction is far too complex to control just by increasing the price of booze. Just look at the figures for drug use, particularly the more expensive ones. The cost and illegality of it doesn't put some people off, so why would minimum pricing stop people drinking?
I think this is actually just another Scottish Government vote winning initiative, which is actually a thinly disguised stealth tax. We are a 'nation of drinkers' apparently, why would they not capitalise on it?

@Coolblur “I think this is actually just another Scottish Government vote winning initiative, which is actually a thinly disguised stealth tax. We are a 'nation of drinkers' apparently, why would they not capitalise on it?”

This really isn’t the case. The policy was driven by the aim of harm reduction.

I believe in this policy and think - eventually - it will make a difference. It's the sort of long-term policy thinking we do need from our political parties, in all parts of the UK (and I've never voted SNP in my life - even a stopped clock is right twice a day, etc etc).

That said, I agree with pp's that some of the consequences are really irksome, and it annoys me that I can't get a case discount. Or - my old favourite - buy two large glasses of wine and get the rest of the bottle free, remember that one??

From my understanding it wasn’t possible for the legislation to introduce MUP as a “tax”, which it would need to be for the proceeds to go to public services due to internal market rules with the UK. The same thing that’s caused all the issues/delays with the bottle deposit scheme. Whatever you think of the SNP it wouldn’t make much sense for them to actively choose not to raise more tax revenue considering the budget pressures and also that where they can raise taxes, they generally do….