Health experts call for alcohol-only checkouts

Health professionals have called for mandatory alcohol-only checkouts to be introduced in Scotland alongside a ban on drinks advertising.

SHAAP is urging the Scottish government to introduce alcohol-only checkouts

The suggestions are among 20 recommendations on alcohol marketing put forward by the Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems (SHAAP) in an effort to combat alcohol-related harm.

The group wants to see alcohol advertising powers handed to an independent regulatory body.

The Scottish government said the next step in its Alcohol Framework Strategy will be introduced later this year.

SHAAP has written to MSPs outlining its manifesto ahead of the government’s Holyrood election in May.

“After several years of welcome reductions in alcohol-related hospitalisations and harms, these are both on the increase again,” commented Eric Carlin, director of SHAAP.

“It is vital that alcohol policy in Scotland should be aligned to the WHO’s [World Health Organisation] 10 ‘best buy’ recommendations, with a specific focus on increasing the price of the cheapest, most harmful products and taking action to restrict the availability and marketing of alcohol.”

The manifesto highlights Scotland has one of the highest liver cirrhosis death rates in Western Europe, with alcohol-related deaths having almost doubled since the early 1980s.

It encouraged a national licensing body to regulate the number, type and opening hours of alcohol retailers, as well as introducing mandatory alcohol-only checkouts in all licensed shops.

Furthermore, it requested the government put a target date in place to outlaw all alcohol advertising, starting with an immediate ban on alcohol advertising at sporting events, a topic that has caused widespread debate over the last year.

Maureen Watt, public health minister, said: “We will introduce the next phase of our Alcohol Framework later this year which will build on the progress so far.

“Given the link between consumption and harm, and evidence that affordability is one of the drivers of increased consumption, addressing price is an important element of any long-term strategy to tackle alcohol misuse and as such we remain committed to introducing minimum unit pricing.”