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Professor John Robertson OBA
As BBC Scotland report that Scotland’s alcohol deaths have fallen to the lowest level since 2019, helpfully reposted by MSM Monitor yesterday, Jackie Baillie‘s infamous statement in 2018:
We don’t believe minimum unit pricing is the ‘silver bullet’ that the SNP Government claim it is.
Did anyone, SNP minister or not, ever claim that MUP would be a ‘silver bullet?‘ The fall will have multiple explanatory factors behind it but here’s an obvious and powerful one, no less unattractive to Baillie:
From Public Health Scotland on 24 June 2025:
During the quarter ending 31 March 2025:
10,233 referrals were made to community-based specialist drug and alcohol treatment services: 5,012 (49.0%) were for problematic use of alcohol, 3,845 (37.6%) for problematic use of drugs, and 1,376 (13.4%) for co-dependency (problematic use of both alcohol and drugs).
Nationally, the Standard was met for referrals to community-based services across all substances: drugs (96.1%), co-dependency (93.9%) and alcohol (90.5%).
In the previous quarters, the percentage treated for alcohol dependency within the target time of three weeks, was 94.4%, 92.6%, 92.2%, 91.1%. It never falls below 90%, the target. More than 20 000 per year are treated within that target. Might this effort, year-after-year, with around 130 000 addicts since the MUP was introduced, be pushing the deaths down?
Honest hard work requires no ‘silver bullet?‘
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
When it comes to Jaikie Baillie I think a ”silver bullet ” might have an effect , or perhaps a wooden stake through the heart . ( but a heart is problematic when dealing with Baillie ! )
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