Impact of Minimum Unit Pricing in Scotland on harmful drinkers

• Research type

  Research Study

• Full title

  Evaluating the impact of minimum unit pricing in Scotland on harmful drinkers

• IRAS ID

  226391

• Contact name

  John Holmes

• Contact email

  john.holmes@sheffield.ac.uk

• Sponsor organisation

  University of Sheffield

• Duration of Study in the UK

  3 years, 8 months, 31 days

• Research summary

  Research Summary

  The study’s aim is to investigate the impact of introducing Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP) for alcohol in Scotland on people who are alcohol dependent. Under MUP, all alcohol sold in the on- and off-trade will be priced at no less that 50p per unit of alcohol (anticipated introduction late 2017/early 2018). The study is a three-wave repeat cross-sectional study in Scotland and Northern England, involving service-users and providers as respondents.

  Service-user respondents will be people who are alcohol dependent entering specialist treatment services or liver clinics. Semi-structured interviews will be conducted prior to MUP implementation (baseline), 3-6 month post implementation, and 18-22 months post implementation. Approximately 200 interviews will be conducted in Scotland and 80 in England at each wave (i.e. n≈840). From these, up to 20 interviewees per wave in Scotland and 15-20 in England will be followed-up for additional in-depth qualitative interview (n≈105-120).
  
  To understand the effect of MUP on alcohol consumption, service-user respondents will be asked about their drinking in a typical week prior to treatment entry including quantity, frequency, type, source, and prices paid. To understand other anticipated and actual effects of MUP, respondents will be asked about other substance use, health and social functioning, family, crime, cross-border acquisition, treatment and other strategies for minimising harms.

  Service-provider respondents will be recruited from the same sites and from other organisations with direct contact with people who are alcohol dependent (e.g. social workers and clinicians). Approximately 10-15 semi-structured interviews will be conducted at each wave across both countries, ideally retaining the same individuals (i.e. 30-45 interviews from 10-15 people). Interviews will focus on demand for treatment services and perceived changes following MUP, service-provider and sector responses to assist clients to adjust to MUP.

  Descriptive trend analysis of quantitative data and thematic analysis of qualitative data will be undertaken.

  Summary of Results

  A plain English briefing summarising the results of this study is available on the Public Health Scotland website.
  https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fu2790089.ct.sendgrid.net%2Fls%2Fclick%3Fupn%3DXv3JSvJ-2B3M71ppf7N9agbTiFS6xW-2FDH6wYJyXY8kELGirzVB5O9ivclUtqlxPP7pYjQLnhAulZpZrvPO-2BnuneP0Ce9BxAPFFk6nUYJPafpnA67kt5jQBfSG81fFpyL8m8nEIg7hnmli9FtzTFCf4ZzeZjJKGQqEtCoNBKoMfVoGTqtNJGyI49dshfDDCzPKsCb-2FNPyh85huejMlt-2FQ19YmmEkZ1QH7pF8DAJAkGGiV0-3D3lbB_E1aO2-2BZlVOSJJV-2FajQqskegTd6IRomHYTi-2Fbt8SH3YJaz1MLMNs-2Brce29wDqbnQueAGUM6XF7c-2F72Xm6AHtwh-2BLhFRk6-2BhK4nfbJ9q543nLxiC6k6ar3KWft-2BqpbpJ1MG9CBT8qeh08C9pxdH5FCJoED71jKgHDt8NENaNQU8DPePzXm0QUjDmU1NQ4WLAwZEhZO5vBDzDt0a47TwRdp-2Fg-3D-3D&data=05%7C01%7Capprovals%40hra.nhs.uk%7Cee68fa2a6929435e4b9508db14b74869%7C8e1f0acad87d4f20939e36243d574267%7C0%7C0%7C638126549646280251%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=3ZieBZ11MIp8ijL0VNf29S07CykORUkOd3fRwJVuIfM%3D&reserved=0

  A shorter blog post summarising the findings is available on the Institute of Alcohol Studies website: https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fu2790089.ct.sendgrid.net%2Fls%2Fclick%3Fupn%3DXv3JSvJ-2B3M71ppf7N9agbQsi2L81Bmyr9JjC4VzVo52AMFkso4TfYaNfylMavAQmOspS2Ykjxc7hhcRdqAt7aJVUlxg60TrMNBDe-2BAK1gTILLN2VpZdMlqhu8h28TeYN5JwYW3k-2FiMOmrPGdf-2F5c4zpFViP3bDfB-2FRk9m0oGGpgVmZKLpIWDd1WtVFD-2FWCF-2FoSoX_E1aO2-2BZlVOSJJV-2FajQqskegTd6IRomHYTi-2Fbt8SH3YJaz1MLMNs-2Brce29wDqbnQumB5lDzvPgRfwDVLECmvyQP24JFilQCaZpfdKjO0pCMxtTB3j7vZbF2Hu3OA2p1EPx3ZOrO7r5Wb5xjq0q88HOvFb2C-2BnfuzqYUYgYikwaPgzFWDuXJ6NmcndkBfU06wZeK7CH4EJ-2BblVkuNI87xLzA-3D-3D&data=05%7C01%7Capprovals%40hra.nhs.uk%7Cee68fa2a6929435e4b9508db14b74869%7C8e1f0acad87d4f20939e36243d574267%7C0%7C0%7C638126549646280251%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=gZpVM00PPURKJk6mVuiMLrVBoWcBpNZWrfwMnYR%2FUDY%3D&reserved=0

• REC name

  West of Scotland REC 3

• REC reference

  17/WS/0167

• Date of REC Opinion

  1 Sep 2017

• REC opinion

  Further Information Favourable Opinion