News and Press

Public Health Community Calls on Labour Commission on Alcohol to Consider Minimum Pricing

8 Feb 2010

Responding to Scottish Labour’s announcement that they have established a commission to examine measures to address alcohol-related harm in Scotland, Dr Bruce Ritson, the Chair of Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems (SHAAP) said today:-

“The leaders of Scotland’s public health community have written to Jackie Baillie to request that the commission includes minimum pricing in the range of pricing policy measures which will be considered given the significant evidence linking price, consumption and harm, and the overwhelming support there is in the medical and public health community for this measure. It is our view that excluding minimum pricing from the commission’s deliberations would seriously weaken the findings of the commission, in particular, any claims it may have to being an independent, scientific inquiry. With the number alcohol-related deaths doubling over the last twenty years whilst the price of alcohol has plummeted, we are in dire need of an effective alcohol policy which puts action on price at the centre of efforts to reduce harm.”