Fewer Scots deaths thanks to Minimum Unit Pricing

By Liz Wells in Industry News 24th November 2020

There were 10% fewer deaths from alcohol in Scotland, the lowest annual total since 2012, new figures reveal.

The data from the National Records of Scotland shows the number of alcohol-specific deaths fell from 1,136 in 2018 to 1,020 in 2019.

Sir Ian Gilmore, chair of the Alcohol Health Alliance UK, said: “This is a huge step forward for public health and demonstrates the effectiveness of measures introduced by the Scottish government, such as minimum unit pricing.

“By failing to implement minimum unit pricing as part of its plans for public health, England is now falling further behind the rest of the UK in the race to tackle alcohol harm. The UK government cannot afford to stall any longer and must implement minimum unit pricing now in order to save lives.”

Minimum Unit Pricing came into force in Scotland in May 2018 and in Wales in March this year.