Booze deals ban cuts consumption by 1m litres

A ban on multi-buy and buy-one-get-one-free deals on alcohol has has reduced Scottish consumption by one million litres of pure alcohol a year, new figures show.

A ban on buy-one-get-one-free deals on alcohol has seen consumption levels in Scotland fall by 1m litres

Consumption levels fell almost 3% from 34.04 million litres of pure alcohol in 2011 – when the Scottish government implemented the legislation the Alcohol Act – to 33.08 million litres in 2012.

The Act also placed restrictions on alcohol advertising around premises and imposed age verification checks plus a social responsibility levy on various licence holders.

“These findings show the Alcohol Act had the intended impact of reducing alcohol consumption in Scotland by placing restrictions on how alcohol is displayed and promoted,” said Mark Robinson, NHS Health Scotland, as reported by the Daily Record.

“Some retailers responded to the multi-buy discount ban by selling bottles of wine for £3.33 instead of three for £10 but the incentive for people to buy more than they may otherwise have bought was removed and sales decreased.

“Although these effects are welcome, alcohol consumption in Scotland remains high and a large proportion is still sold at relatively low prices.

“There is evidence that the positive effects of the act would be enhanced by minimum unit pricing to prevent the sale of cheap, high-strength alcohol.”

The report’s co-author, Dr Jim Lewsey, of the University of Glasgow, noted that similar declines were not seen in England and Wales where the Alcohol Act has not come into practice.

“The possible impacts of other factors, such as changes in income and alcohol prices, were taken into account,” he said. “This provides evidence that the effects were associated with the Act and not some other factor.”

In October last year, new research suggested that minimum alcohol pricing of 45p per unit would be 50 times more effective than a below cost selling ban in tackling alcohol misuse.