Irvine Welsh: ‘Let’s tackle Scotland’s cheap bevvy culture’

Welsh urged politicians to “stand up and be counted” on tackling the problem of alcohol abuse which costs Scotland an estimated £2.25 billion a year in healthcare, crime, the fall-out from social problems and days lost at work.

He also took a swipe at the drinks industry, which is fiercely opposed to minimum prices, as it fears other countries could copy the Scottish example.

Welsh said: “Scotland has a growing problem with alcohol abuse. More people, younger people and more women than ever before, are at risk from being encouraged to over-consume this drug.

“We know that the price and availability of alcohol products have a strong relationship to the amount of alcohol consumed.

“This is a major social issue and needs to be tackled as such by our politicians in a democracy, and this should transcend the concerns of those in the alcohol industry who feel their profitability will be compromised.

“Very few would want to go back to the days when the tobacco industry determined policy on smoking.

“Now politicians should stand up and be counted and move us on to a new era where how much we drink will not be determined by the alcohol industry lobby.”

The statement was issued on Welsh’s behalf by the advocacy group Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems (Shaap), which was set up by the royal medical colleges.

Although Welsh, who now lives in Ireland, did not explicitly mention minimum pricing, his comments were made with the current political debate in mind, a Shaap spokeswoman said.

Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon is due to publish her long-awaited Alcohol Bill on Thursday.

Its key proposal is the establishment of a minimum price per unit of alcohol sold in off-sales and supermarkets, which would raise the cost of some own-label vodka by 50% and strong cider by 100%.

The final unit price would be set after the bill was passed, but working papers have so far focused on 40p per 10ml of alcohol. It is estimated that for every 1% rise in price, consumption falls 1%.

Around 1400 Scots drink themselves to death each year, but minimum pricing would cut that by 20% within a decade, according to research commissioned by the Government.

Since 1980, the price of alcohol has fallen nearly 70% relative to disposable income, while consumption has risen 21%. Scotland now has one of the worst cirrhosis rates in the world.

The new bill would also ban “irresponsible promotions” in off-sales and supermarkets and force bars to make small measures of wine available.

At Holyrood, the proposal is opposed by the Conservatives, leaving the SNP needing support from another major party. Liberal Democrats in England have backed minimum pricing, while those in Scotland oppose it.

Labour has yet to declare its position. If the 46-strong Labour group abstained, the bill would still pass.

Dr Bruce Ritson, chair of Shaap, said: “Today we have a culture of cheap ­alcohol which has led to over-consumption and alcohol-related deaths increasing by 150% in a generation.

“Price and availability is an integral part of our drinking culture but the changes in the alcohol market are relatively recent and can be reversed.”

Ms Sturgeon welcomed Welsh’s intervention, saying: “The measures we have proposed to tackle alcohol misuse are very much in line with what he is saying.”

“This is especially true of minimum pricing, which would see the cheap white ciders and low-grade spirits favoured by problem drinkers rise in price.

“Meanwhile, all drinks in the pub and the vast majority of supermarket wines, beers and whiskies would see no change.”

Robert Brown, for the LibDems, added: “This measure is not what Scotland needs. We need a complete culture change in Scotland in how people view alcohol.”