Alcohol policy
Scotland has its own alcohol policies on price, licensing and public health. These decisions shape how cheaply alcohol can be sold, where it can be bought and how local communities can respond to alcohol harm.
Minimum unit pricing Alcohol cannot be sold below a minimum price for each unit it contains.
Minimum unit pricing, usually called MUP, was introduced in Scotland in 2018. The current minimum price is 65p per unit of alcohol.
The rule mainly affects cheaper high-strength alcohol because the minimum price rises with the number of units in the product.
A 700ml bottle of 40% whisky cannot be sold for less than £18.20.
A 750ml bottle of 13% wine cannot be sold for less than £6.34.
Four 440ml cans of 5% beer cannot be sold for less than £5.72.
Why Scotland introduced it The aim is to reduce harm by making the cheapest alcohol less affordable.
Minimum unit pricing is not a tax. The money does not go to the Scottish Government. It sets a legal floor price below which alcohol cannot be sold.
Public Health Scotland's evaluation found that MUP was associated with an estimated reduction in alcohol-specific deaths and hospital admissions, with the largest health gains seen in men and people living in the most deprived areas.
Public Health Scotland — evaluation of minimum unit pricing ↗Licensing Local Licensing Boards decide who can sell alcohol and under what conditions.
Alcohol licences in Scotland are decided locally. Licensing Boards consider applications for pubs, clubs, restaurants, shops, supermarkets and other premises that want to sell alcohol.
Scottish licensing law includes five objectives:
Preventing crime and disorder.
Securing public safety.
Preventing public nuisance.
Protecting and improving public health.
Protecting children and young people from harm.
Availability matters How easy alcohol is to buy is part of the public-health picture.
Alcohol is available through supermarkets, corner shops, off-licences, pubs, bars, clubs, restaurants and online delivery. Where outlets are concentrated and how late alcohol is sold can affect how visible and accessible it is in a community.
Licensing Boards can consider whether an area already has enough licensed premises when deciding new applications.
Read about communities →Advertising and promotion Scotland has debated stronger controls on how alcohol is marketed and promoted.
Alcohol marketing appears through sponsorship, sport, social media, packaging, shop displays and price promotions. Public-health organisations in Scotland have argued for tighter controls, particularly where children and young people are exposed.
Some controls already exist through licensing law and UK-wide advertising rules, but alcohol marketing policy remains an area of debate and policy development.
Alcohol Focus Scotland — alcohol marketing ↗Policy is about more than individual choice Price, availability and marketing influence the environment people make choices in.
Alcohol policy does not replace personal responsibility, treatment or family support. It deals with the wider conditions around drinking: how cheap alcohol is, how widely it is sold and how heavily it is promoted.
Scotland's alcohol strategy therefore combines population-level measures with treatment, recovery and local services.
Help & Recovery →Has minimum unit pricing worked? The official evaluation found measurable health benefits, but it did not solve Scotland's alcohol problem.
Public Health Scotland estimated that MUP reduced deaths directly caused by alcohol by 13.4% and hospital admissions by 4.1%. It also estimated a 3% reduction in population alcohol consumption measured through retail sales.
The strongest reductions were seen among groups experiencing the greatest harm, especially men and people in more deprived areas.
Scotland still has high levels of alcohol-related illness and death, so MUP is one part of the response rather than the whole answer.
Read about poverty and inequality →