A week after the historic introduction of Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP) for alcohol in Scotland, Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems (SHAAP) today published a report telling the story of the international campaign to introduce this ground-breaking policy.
SHAAP, in partnership with the Scottish Medical Royal Colleges, first called for action to introduce MUP and was supported at international level from the outset by Eurocare (the European Alcohol Policy Alliance), which has co-authored the report. It documents how the campaign started, revealing who the prime movers were in the UK and abroad, details the evidence for MUP and the legal challenges brought over nearly six years by the global alcohol industry, and sets out the route plan for the monitoring and evaluation of the policy before the legislation came back to the Scottish Parliament for a renewed vote five years later.
Dr Peter Rice, Chair of Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems (SHAAP) said:
“This is the most important measure Scotland could adopt to improve the health of our nation since the smoking ban, and we are proud to have been a leading part of that story over the past ten years. As doctors we see the terrible damage harmful drinking does on a daily basis and we are confident MUP will begin to address this. But it must also be part of a bigger package to limit availability and restrict marketing, and SHAAP looks forward to keeping up the pressure for change!”
Dr Eric Carlin, Director of Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems (SHAAP), said:
“At long last this life-saving measure has been enacted. I am grateful to the Scottish Government, and the First Minister in particular, as well as partners across the health and voluntary sectors in the UK and Europe, for championing MUP, against opposition by the Scotch Whisky Association and its backers. We now look forward to others following Scotland’s bold example.”
Mariann Skar, Secretary General of Eurocare, said:
“We are so proud to have been a crucial part of helping MUP to become reality in Scotland. It’s a targeted measure to address alcohol-related harm in deprived communities and is bound to make a real difference in Scotland. Eurocare now stresses the need for proper evaluation to inform strategies in other countries.”
