Is there any amount of evidence that could convince the ‘public health’ lobby that one of their bright ideas didn’t work? What would it take for them to admit that they failed? It is now five years since the SNP introduced minimum unit pricing for alcohol. It was supposed to be the most effective policy available to tackle alcohol harm — yet figures released today show that alcohol-specific deaths in Scotland have reached a 14-year high. Is it perhaps time for a rethink? Is it time to abandon a policy that has cost Scottish consumers hundreds of millions of pounds and instead start focusing on dependent drinkers who need help?
Not in the slightest, according to the Scottish government. In a press release that played down the scale of the problem, drugs and alcohol policy minister Elena Whitham praised ‘our world-leading minimum unit pricing (MUP) policy’ and cited ‘recent research’ which ‘estimated it has saved hundreds of lives’.
There is indeed ‘wide-ranging evidence’ in the form of an official evaluation from Public Health Scotland.
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