Why MUP should stay

Alcohol misuse is the biggest risk factor for death, ill-health, and disability among 15–49-year-olds, and the fifth biggest risk factor across all ages.

In 2021, there were 9,641 deaths from alcohol-specific causes in the UK, a 27.4% increase from 2019 and Scotland had the highest rates of alcohol-specific deaths in 2020.

However, following the introduction of minimum unit pricing (MUP), alcohol sales fell to their lowest level since records began in 1994 and there has been a 7.6% reduction in weekly alcohol purchases by households, mostly from heavier drinking households. MUP has also been associated with a 13.4% drop in alcohol-specific deaths and a 4% reduction in alcohol-specific hospitalisations.

Today, we have submitted our response to the Scottish Government’s consultation on MUP, recommending that it should continue at a new, higher price of 65 pence.