> The result? Nothing has changed, there is still the same amount of health problems in Scotland caused by alcohol.
Actually, no.
The price of alcoholic drinks that you and I would buy hasn't changed a bit. Pub prices haven't changed, because they weren't affected by this law. Retail prices in supermarkets haven't changed a bit. Well, that's not quite true, they've gone up but only at the same rate as everything else.
Pikey cider and various "vodka-style spirit drinks" made from food-grade industrial ethanol and synthetic flavourings have pretty much disappeared from sale. Before Minimum Unit Pricing - which sets the minimum price that retail outlets can sell alcoholic drinks at to 50p per unit of alcohol - it was possible to buy a 3 litre bottle of 8% "cider flavour alcoholic drink" for about three quid. That's essentially been priced out of the market, because no-one wants to pay nearly a tenner for a bottle of windscreen washer fluid without the detergent in.
MUP has not affected the price of "normal" drinks, because let's face it, £1 minimum for a can of beer or £5 for a bottle of wine is already on the cheap end of things.
Since MUP came in, deaths from alcohol-related illness has dropped by about 15%, and in the first year alone alcohol-related deaths (that's illness, accidents, fires, misadventure, etc) dropped by 10%.
More people with alcohol problems are seeking help. Fewer young people - the people who the pound-a-litre pikey cider is marketed to - are drinking underage, and those who are, are drinking less.
While there were fanciful tales in the newspapers that alcoholic drinks would be so expensive in Scotland that people would drive to England to load up with cheaper booze and drive back with it, it turns out that no-one really cares that much. Anyone who has the resources for the "booze cruises" that the trashy tabloids describe probably isn't buying anything affected by Minimum Unit Pricing anyway.
In general, MUP has been a resounding success. It's worked so well that Ireland are now doing it too.
Actually, no.
The price of alcoholic drinks that you and I would buy hasn't changed a bit. Pub prices haven't changed, because they weren't affected by this law. Retail prices in supermarkets haven't changed a bit. Well, that's not quite true, they've gone up but only at the same rate as everything else.
Pikey cider and various "vodka-style spirit drinks" made from food-grade industrial ethanol and synthetic flavourings have pretty much disappeared from sale. Before Minimum Unit Pricing - which sets the minimum price that retail outlets can sell alcoholic drinks at to 50p per unit of alcohol - it was possible to buy a 3 litre bottle of 8% "cider flavour alcoholic drink" for about three quid. That's essentially been priced out of the market, because no-one wants to pay nearly a tenner for a bottle of windscreen washer fluid without the detergent in.
MUP has not affected the price of "normal" drinks, because let's face it, £1 minimum for a can of beer or £5 for a bottle of wine is already on the cheap end of things.
Since MUP came in, deaths from alcohol-related illness has dropped by about 15%, and in the first year alone alcohol-related deaths (that's illness, accidents, fires, misadventure, etc) dropped by 10%.
More people with alcohol problems are seeking help. Fewer young people - the people who the pound-a-litre pikey cider is marketed to - are drinking underage, and those who are, are drinking less.
While there were fanciful tales in the newspapers that alcoholic drinks would be so expensive in Scotland that people would drive to England to load up with cheaper booze and drive back with it, it turns out that no-one really cares that much. Anyone who has the resources for the "booze cruises" that the trashy tabloids describe probably isn't buying anything affected by Minimum Unit Pricing anyway.
In general, MUP has been a resounding success. It's worked so well that Ireland are now doing it too.