The minimum unit price could be increased and advertising of alcohol could also be restricted
A crackdown on low cost alcohol in Scotland is set to continue.
The Scottish Government has unveiled its Alcohol Framework 2018, which includes proposals to consult on measures to restrict alcohol marketing, such as in public spaces and online.
Under the framework, the UK Government will be pressed to impose a 9pm watershed for alcohol advertising on TV, and restrictions on advertising in cinemas are also proposed.
Alcohol producers will be urged to put health information on labels, and the current minimum unit price of 50p will be reviewed after 1 May 2020.
The government has said alcohol misuse costs Scotland £3.6 billion each year – £900 for every adult – and on average, almost 700 Scots are hospitalised because of their drinking every week.
Speaking at the European Alcohol Policy Conference in Edinburgh, Public Health Minister Joe FitzPatrick said: “Our new Alcohol Framework sets out our next steps on tackling alcohol-related harm. We need to keep challenging our relationship with alcohol to save lives. Behind each statistic is a person, a family, a community struggling with the impact of alcohol harms. These new measures build on the progress of our 2009 Framework which has made an impact by tackling higher-risk drinking, but we want to go further.
“Scotland’s action is bold and it is brave and, as demonstrated by our world-leading minimum unit pricing policy, we are leading the way in introducing innovative solutions to public health challenges.”
The framework has been welcomed by the British Medical Association Scotland.
Chair Dr Lewis Morrison said: “When Scotland introduced minimum unit pricing earlier this year, it was a move to lead the world by addressing the price of alcohol’s role in driving consumption.
“This updated framework gives us an opportunity to do more to tackle the pervasive marketing and availability of alcohol in Scotland.
“The alcohol industry spends hundreds of millions of pounds every year on advertising in the UK. The result of that is that everywhere children turn while they are growing up they are exposed to alcohol marketing.
“Removing alcohol advertising from public spaces in particular will be a strong step towards ensuring children in Scotland experience alcohol-free childhoods and should be fully embraced.”
