PUBLIC HEALTH EXPERTS BACK MINIMUM PRICING PLAN.

PUBLIC HEALTH EXPERTS BACK MINIMUM PRICING PLAN.

Scottish Government plans to introduce minimum pricing for alcohol have won a significant endorsement from the Faculty of Public Health in Scotland with the organisation’s convener Dr Emilia Crighton insisting that there was an "overwhelming case" that cheap drink was damaging Scotland's health.

Welcoming the findings, Michael Matheson MSP, an SNP member of the Scottish Parliament’s Health Committee, said:

“As a leading public health expert Dr Crighton’s intervention is a significant endorsement, and the evidence now supporting the Scottish Government’s proposals is overwhelming.

“As the evidence stacks up week after week those politicians who oppose minimum pricing look increasingly irresponsible.

“The issue here is ending a situation where three-litre bottles of chemical cider are sold for £3, or 700ml bottles of industrial vodka for less than £7. These are the products favoured by problem drinkers and are exactly the ones that will be targeted by minimum pricing – not quality products sold at responsible prices.

“Minimum pricing of alcohol has broad support base among medical experts, the police and the pub trade. Even the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) in England, the UK Government’s expert advisory body on medical treatment, strongly backed minimum pricing as a way of reducing consumption among harmful and hazardous drinkers.

“The endorsement from the Faculty of Public Health underlines precisely why the Scottish Government is right to tackle the scourge of alcohol misuse"