Alcohol: availability, affordability and consumption 

Levels of alcohol consumption can be estimated based on sales data or survey self-reports, though it is well known that self-report surveys underestimate how much people drink (Goddard, 2007 (308 kB); Catto & Gibbs, 2008). Sales data provide an objective indication of levels of alcohol consumption at a population level and are endorsed by the World Health Organization for this purpose (WHO, 2000). Sales data have been used to quantify the level of underestimation inherent in self-report surveys (Catto & Gibbs, 2008). However, sales data provide no information on drinking patterns which is a key strength of self-report surveys.

Alcohol consumption - sales data

Alcohol retail sales data are endorsed by the World Health Organization as the most accurate when estimating alcohol consumption at a population level (WHO, 2000).  Retail sales data have been used routinely for monitoring alcohol consumption in Scotland as part of the Monitoring and Evaluating Scotland’s Alcohol Strategy (MESAS) programme for many years.

The latest data show that per adult alcohol consumption, as measured by retail sales, has fallen in each of the last three years in Scotland (MESAS Monitoring Report 2022); on average 9.4 litres of pure alcohol was sold per adult in Scotland in 2021, equivalent to 18 units of alcohol per adult per week. 

Alcohol retails sales data have been used to evaluate alcohol policy in Scotland.  Public Health Scotland are leading the evaluation of minimum unit pricing (MUP) in Scotland and have published results that show MUP was associated with a 3.5% reduction per adult alcohol sales in the first year following implementation (Giles et al, 2021). 

Because HMRC levies a duty on alcohol sales, their monthly publications on Alcohol Duty Receipts provide some information on volume of alcohol sales in the UK. More information on alcohol duties can be found on the HMRC website. The HMRC monthly bulletins (see HMRC Alcohol Duty page) show the most recent figures on duty on wine of fresh grape, made wine, spirits, beer and cider as well as trend data from 1999/2000 onwards.

Alcohol consumption - survey data

The latest available information on self-reported adult alcohol consumption can be found in two key population surveys: The Scottish Health Survey (SHeS) and the Scottish Social Attitudes Survey. Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, a shorter version of the SHeS was conducted in 2020 than in previous years. Since the 2020 survey was conducted over the telephone, and some questions were changed, it is not comparable with previous years. The 2020 report does not include alcohol use by Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation, for example, but this can be found in previous years’ reports.

The Scottish Schools Adolescent Lifestyle and Substance Use Survey (SALSUS) provides a broad based approach to the monitoring of substance use, including alcohol, among young people in Scotland.

The 2018 Opinions and Lifestyle Survey published information on Adult Drinking Habits in Great Britain in 2017, including breakdowns by age group and income.

Adults' Alcohol Consumption

The Scottish Health Survey (SHeS) reports on daily and weekly alcohol consumption levels in a sample of the Scottish population. Key points from the 2021 survey are provided below (also see chapter 8 of the 2021 Scottish Health Survey main report).

• The mean number of units of alcohol consumed per week by adult drinkers was 11.3 in 2021,the lowest point in the time series. Similarly, the prevalence of hazardous or harmful drinking in all adults is at its lowest figure at 23%.
• The mean number of units consumed per week remained between 12.1 and 12.9 between 2014 and 2019 before decreasing to 11.3 in 2021, the lowest point in the time series.
• The prevalence of hazardous or harmful drinking levels varied by age, increasing from 14% among those aged 16-24 to 29% among those aged 55-64, before falling to 15% among adults aged 75 and over. Levels of hazardous or harmful drinking were significantly higher among men compared with women across all age groups. .

Young People's Alcohol Consumption

The Scottish Schools Adolescent Lifestyle and Substance Use Survey (SALSUS): Alcohol Report provides information about children and young people’s alcohol consumption and attitude towards alcohol drinking. as well as alcohol availability. Some key findings from the 2018 report are given below:

• In 2018, just over a third of 13 year old pupils (36%) and 71% of 15 year olds had ever had an alcoholic drink.
• Of the pupils asked, only a small proportion had drunk alcohol in the 7 days prior to completing the survey: 6% of 13 year olds and 20% of 15 year olds. Between 2015 and 2018, there was an increase in the proportion of boys who had drunk in the last week: from 4% to 7% among 13 year olds and from 16% to 20% among 15 year olds. There was also an increase among 13 year old girls, from 4% in 2015 to 6% in 2018. Among 15 year old girls there has been no statistically significant change.
• Just over half of 13 year olds (53%) and around two-thirds of 15 year olds (70%) who had ever consumed alcohol had been drunk at least once.
• Among 13 year olds, around half (52%) of those who had ever had a drink experienced one (or more) negative effect as a result of drinking alcohol in the last year, compared with over half of 15 year olds (63%).

Source and availability:

• Among both age groups, pupils were most likely to get alcohol from their home, from a friend, or from a relative. Direct purchase of alcohol from a business was rare.
• Just over a third of 13 year olds (33%) and just over half of 15 year olds (51%) who have ever had a drink had asked someone else to buy them alcohol in the last 4 weeks.

Attitudes to alcohol use:

• Just over half of 13 year olds (51%) thought that it was ‘ok’ for someone their age to try drinking alcohol, while over three-quarters of 15 year olds (79%) thought it was ‘ok’.
• 16% of 13 year olds and 49% of 15 year olds thought that it was ‘ok’ for someone their age to try getting drunk. This has increased among both age groups since 2015: 9% of 13 year olds thought it was ‘ok’ to try getting drunk in 2015, compared with 16% in 2018 and 38% of 15 year olds thought this in 2015, compared with 49% in 2018.

The Health Survey for England (HSE) Children’s Health Report provides information on the proportion of children who have had an alcoholic drink, including breakdowns by age and by parents’ weekly alcohol consumption. The Health Survey for England, 2019: Children’s health-related behaviours report (501.9 kB) reported that the proportion of children aged 8 to 15 who had ever drunk alcohol fell from 45% in 2003 to 15% in 2019. In 2019, 35% of children aged 13 to 15 had ever drunk alcohol, compared with 9% aged 11 to 12 and 1% aged 8 to 10.

The ScotPHO Profiles include indicators relating to 15-year olds drinking at least weekly at NHS Board and at Alcohol and Drug Partnership level.

Effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on alcohol consumption

Public Health Scotland have published two reports and a briefing paper on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and related restrictions on alcohol consumption in Scotland in the early stages of the pandemic:

• Changes in alcohol consumption in Scotland during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic: descriptive analysis of repeat cross-sectional survey data used survey data to describe how drinking behaviour changed after lockdown, and to see how this differed among different population groups.
• The impact of COVID-19 and related restrictions on population-level alcohol sales in Scotland and England & Wales, March–July 2020 used sales data to assess how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted alcohol consumption at the population level.
• Alcohol sales and consumption in Scotland during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic is a briefing paper looking at the two studies together. It reports that the physical distancing measures introduced in the UK had a marked impact on alcohol sales. Overall, there was a 6% reduction in total alcohol sales in Scotland, as increases in off-trade sales did not fully replace the loss of on-trade sales. Most self-reported alcohol consumption measures have also reduced accordingly, although statistically significant reductions could only be reported for England. There has been a notable shift to later start times of drinking, and increased solitary drinking, impacting some sub-groups of the population more than others.

The MESAS Monitoring Report 2021 shows that this trend towards sales of alcohol through supermarkets and off-licences (off-trade) has continued as a result of the impact of physical distancing on pubs and restaurants (on-trade).  In 2020 90% of alcohol sales were through off-trade premises, compared to 73% in 2019.

Data from the most recent SHeS was collected in August and September 2020. The survey asked about change in alcohol drinking habits since the start of lockdown in Scotland, 23^rd March 2020:

• The majority of adults did not change the number of days they drank alcohol, or the amount of alcohol they consumed (59% and 71% respectively). Almost a quarter (25%) reported increasing the number of days they drank alcohol, while 17% reported this decreasing. 12% of respondents increased the amount of alcohol consumed, while 18% decreased this.
• Younger adults (27% of 16 – 44 year olds) were more likely to report increasing the frequency of alcohol use since the beginning of lockdown, compared to older adults (13% of those aged 75+).
• Adults who were advised to shield were less likely to report an increase in the number of days they drank alcohol, compared to those who were not advised to shield (14% compared to 25%).

Price and affordability 

There is good evidence to show that the price and affordability of alcohol influences levels of alcohol consumption. The most recent MESAS Monitoring Report shows that the average price of alcohol sold in the off-trade in Scotland was 63 pence per unit (ppu) in 2020, an increase from 62 ppu in 2019. The average on-trade price in Scotland was £2.00 per unit, an increase from £1.96 in 2019

In 2020, alcohol sold in the UK was 73% more affordable than it was in 1987. The affordability of alcohol in the UK rose steadily between 1987 and 2007. Between 2007 and 2011 it reduced slightly, predominantly due to a fall in disposable incomes. From 2011 to 2019 alcohol became steadily more affordable as household disposable income increased and the price of alcohol fell, relative to other retail prices. Alcohol affordability decreased slightly in 2020 due to a real-terms decrease in disposable income.

Public Health Scotland’s 2021 report on Evaluating the impact of Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP) on the price distribution of off-trade alcohol in Scotland found an increase in the proportion of alcohol being sold above the 50ppu floor price following the introduction of MUP in Scotland. Nearly two thirds (65.3%) of off-trade alcohol was sold between 50 and 64.5ppu in the year following MUP implementation. This was around double the proportion in England and Wales, and Scotland in the year prior to MUP being implemented. Most of the change was seen in drink types previously often sold below 50ppu, such as beer, spirits, cider and perry.

Family expenditure on alcoholic drinks in the UK can be gleaned from the Living Costs and Food Survey; see for example Table A1 in the Family Spending 2018 report. The Scottish Schools Adolescent Lifestyle and Substance Use Survey (SALSUS): Alcohol Report includes some information on purchasing of alcoholic drinks by 13- and 15-year olds (for example, whether and where they tried to buy alcohol).

Licensing data

The main legislation that controls the sale of alcohol is the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005, which applies to both on-trade (pubs, clubs and restaurants), and off-trade (supermarkets, convenience stores and off-licences). The number of licensed premises in an area gives an indication of the availability of alcohol.

According to figures published by the Scottish Government there were 16,722premises licences in force in Scotland as at 31 March 2019 – 11,631on-sales and 5,091 off-sales (from Scottish Liquor Licensing Statistics). In addition, 25,726 occasional licences were granted during 2018/19 in Scotland.

The ScotPHO Profiles include information at Alcohol and Drug Partnership level regarding the number of licences in force per 10,000 population aged 18 or over.