By Professor John Robertson
From Public Health Scotland on 26 March 2024:
General hospital admissions resulting from conditions wholly attributable to alcohol peaked in 2007/08 (855 per 100,000 population) but have fallen most years since and reduced by 37.5% between 2007/08 and 2022/23 (532 per 100,000).
The 2022 Scottish Health Survey (SHeS) reports that 19% of respondents (aged 16 and over) stated that they did not drink any alcohol. This represents a rise on the equivalent 2021 figure which was 16%. There has been a steady increase in the percentage of SHeS respondents aged 16-24 years who report that they do not drink between 2016 and 2022 (10% in 2016 rising to 22% in 2022).
So, first, the fall in alcohol-related hospital admissions steepened after the launch of the SNP Minimum Unit Pricing policy in 2018, described by BBC Scotland and others as ‘controversial’ at the time. Imagine it had been the other way round?
Second, looking at the graph, the Cons and Labour increasingly drove people to drink and the SNP, from 2007, began to create a better land where many felt less need to resort to it. To cries from the opposition that other factors must have been responsible, I reply ‘If it was the other way round, who would you blame?’
Third, young folk too are less likely to drink too much under SNP Government and we know from election data and polls, to this day, that they like the SNP more than any other group. Once again IIWTOWR?
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
The way that Scottish success in reducing alcohol problems is reported
( i.e. NOT reported ! )
would drive a normal person to drink ! You would be forgiven for thinking that the Unionist media and politicians have shares in the Drinks Industry such is there aversion to promoting MUP of alcohol !
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it is very likely that the multinationals which own much of the media do have shares in alcohol. A fair bit of advertising revenue comes from drink.
Anent the BBC , since it is now largely controlled by Tories and some of them will be funded by the drinks industry or have shares, then the BBC is going to do as bid.
Alasdair Macdonald
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MUP good policy. Cannot tax it so control it. Scotland once drunk 25% more than the rest of the UK that has fallen. More proper total abstinence rehab facilities are needed.
The SNP Gov are funding £250million over five years to total abstinence proper rehab facilities. Rehabs have opened in the Borders and Dundee. More on the way.
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