Scots still consume a fifth more alcohol than drinkers in England

THE amount of alcohol bought in Scotland has dropped for the first time since records began, figures have revealed.

Statistics show a four per cent fall in the amount of pure alcohol sold in Scotland – the first decrease since officials started recording the sales in 1994.

Despite the fall, health officials warned the sales were still ten per cent higher than 18 years ago – and 20 per cent higher than current levels of sales in England and Wales.

A report published by NHS Health Scotland into the total sales for alcohol in pubs, restaurants and shops revealed a drop in the purchase of spirits, beer and wine. The only alcohol to show a rise was cider.

The study, which experts say provide the best estimate of the country’s consumption levels, showed alcohol sales fell from 11.7 litres per adult in 2010 to 11.2 litres last year. Although the quantity has fallen it remains an average two litres higher than in England and Wales.

The fall comes just three months after MSPs passed legislation which will make Scotland the first place in the UK to introduce minimum drink pricing.

And last October a new law came into force in Scotland which bans shops and supermarkets from making offers such as buy-one-get-one-free and multi-buy discounts on 
alcohol.

A number of alcohol industry experts last night said the fall in sales undermined the need for minimum pricing, which 
will make it illegal for alcohol to be sold for less than 50 pence a unit.

The figures revealed 35 per cent of alcohol purchased in Scotland’s shops last year was sold for less than 40 pence a unit and a total of 66 per cent for less than 50 pence. They also highlighted how the price of alcohol increased for all drinks between 2009 and 20011.

The average price of alcohol sold in shops last year was 48 pence a unit – two pence cheaper than the Scottish Government plans to set minimum pricing at – and in restaurants and bars £1.46 a unit.

Clare Beeston, principal public health adviser at NHS Health Scotland, said: “We may be seeing the result of decreasing alcohol affordability as disposable incomes fall during the current deep and sustained economic downturn or of efforts by a wide range of organisations over a number of years.

“It is likely to be a combination of these and other factors.

“However, the report shows that alcohol consumption in Scotland continues to be at high levels and we shouldn’t be complacent.”

Gavin Hewitt, chief executive of the Scotch Whisky Association, said the dip in sales showed current initiatives to curb problem drinking were already working.

He said: “This finding further questions the need to introduce minimum unit pricing – a measure which is likely to be illegal and won’t reduce the number of harmful drinkers.”

Taken as a whole, the new figures reveal drinkers in Scotland now consume an average 21.6 units per week, which is higher than the government recommendation of 14 units for women and 21 for men. The report said on-trade sales of alcohol in Scotland, which is sold in pubs and restaurants, had fallen by 30 per cent between 1994 and 2011, from five litres to 3.5 litres per person.

Conversely, off-trade sales in shops and supermarkets had increased by 48 per cent over the same time period – from 5.2 litres in 1994 to 7.7 litres in 2011. It is estimated the majority of drink, around two thirds, was bought in supermarkets.

The figures, which are for 2010 and 2011, show that since 1994 sales in Scotland have increased by 11 per cent to an average of 11.2 litres of pure alcohol per adult.

Beer remains the biggest over-the-counter alcohol seller in Scotland with 3.7 litres sold per adult each year. The majority of sales come from off-licences, with 69 per cent of the annual beer sales. This was followed by spirits, wine and then cider.

The report highlighted a much higher consumption of spirits, notably cheap brands of vodka, in Scotland when compared to the rest of the UK. Spirit sales are 79 per cent higher in Scotland than in England and Wales.

Health secretary Nicola Sturgeon welcomed the fall in sales, but said minimum pricing was still needed to reduce the “unacceptably high” amount of drink being consumed.

She said: “These findings demonstrate the continuing extent of Scotland’s alcohol misuse problem, with enough alcohol being sold for every adult to exceed weekly recommended limits for men each and every week since at least 2000.”

Scottish Conservative health spokesman Jackson Carlaw said he was “cautiously optimistic” minimum unit pricing would help save lives across Scotland.