Tackling Scotland's Alcohol Problem
News

Scottish Parliament election 2021- what do the manifestos say about alcohol?

30th April 2021

Ahead of this year’s election to the Scottish Parliament, SHAAP has analysed the policy proposals on alcohol put forward in each of the main political parties’ election manifestos. This is a snapshot of the proposals that have been featured and is by no means exhaustive, but aims to offer an overview of manifesto content for those who are interested in the different political parties’ policies on reducing alcohol harm in Scotland.

SHAAP statement on differential duty rates

1st March 2021

SHAAP supports the principle of differential duty rates for on and off trade retailers in the current market conditions in the UK. Duty rates in the UK have been falling behind incomes and prices for many years and rates for all categories are at historically low levels. We call for a long-term strategy of progressive duty increases in the off trade. We do not support a reduction in current on trade duty rates.

We are not encouraging on trade drinking, particularly during the pandemic given the risk of intoxicated crowds gathering in an enclosed space.

Public Health Scotland publishes two studies on alcohol sales and consumption in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic

16th February 2021

Public Health Scotland has today published two studies on the impact of initial COVID-19 restrictions on alcohol sales and consumption.

SHAAP writes to the Chancellor of the Exchequer with a call to increase alcohol duty ahead of the Budget

15th February 2021

On 15 February 2021, SHAAP wrote to the Chancellor of the Exchequer with a call to increase alcohol duty by 2% above inflation, ahead of the Budget.

SHAAP launches manifesto for the 2021 Scottish Parliament election

25th November 2020

Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems (SHAAP) has launched our Manifesto for the 2021 Scottish Parliament election. This calls on all parties and candidates to recognise that alcohol-related harm has implications for multiple other areas of physical and mental health, and to commit to policies that will help tackle Scotland's alcohol problem.

National Records of Scotland publishes new data on alcohol-specific deaths

24th November 2020

The National Records of Scotland have published new data [opens PDF in new window] for alcohol-specific deaths registered in Scotland in 2019. These data show there were 1,020 alcohol-specific deaths in 2019, a drop of 10% from 2018, and the lowest annual total since 2013.

SHAAP and the University of Edinburgh launch new report exploring refugees' experiences of harmful alcohol use

11th November 2020

On Tuesday 10 November 2020, Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems (SHAAP) and the University of Edinburgh School of Health in Social Science held an online launch event for over 60 people for their new report: Exploring the factors that influence harmful alcohol use through the refugee journey: a qualitative study. We were delighted to welcome the authors of the report, Dr Fiona Cuthill and Dr Steph Grohmann as speakers at the event, as well as Michelle Major from Homeless Network Scotland, and Mahdi Saki from Glasgow Night Shelter for Destitute Asylum Seekers, who both gave remarks.

WHO publishes new CIS 'First Movers' alcohol policies report

20th October 2020

WHO Regional Office for Europe has today published a new report highlighting the main outcomes of a first WHO workshop on the implementation of alcohol policies in the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). CIS countries can be seen as the "first movers" in implementing the most cost-effective policies to reduce alcohol consumption and alcohol-attributable harms in the WHO European Region. Their contribution is crucial to reaching the noncommunicable disease (NCD) target of a 10% reduction in the harmful use of alcohol by 2025.

SHAAP launches new 'Rural Matters' report

24th September 2020

On Wednesday 23rd September 2020, Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems (SHAAP) held an online launch event for the publication of our new Rural Matters report. The event had around 90 people participating, and we were delighted to welcome Nick Smith (Alcohol and Drug National Support Manager, Scottish Government), Katie Spence (Orkney ADP Coordinator) and Becky Wood (Recovery Development Worker, Forth Valley) to give remarks prior to the presentation of the report by Jackie MacDiarmid (SHAAP).

SHAAP joins forces with 9 health charities to launch manifesto for NCD prevention

17th September 2020

SHAAP has joined forces with 9 health charities to launch a manifesto for action on preventing Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) ahead of the 2021 Scottish Parliament election. NCDs include cancer, heart disease, stroke, diabetes and lung disease, and cause almost 39,000 deaths every year in Scotland. However, many of these deaths are preventable through action that addresses risk-factors such as how much alcohol people drink. Ahead of the 2021 Scottish Parliament election, it is crucial that political parties take action to tackle these risk factors. The NCD prevention manifesto includes policy calls that rest on strong evidence, and that can help reduce the consumption of alcohol, tobacco and unhealthy food and drink. 

Sign up to regular updates from SHAAP

Subscribe to receive monthly updates on SHAAP’s work and events and our weekly media briefing on the latest alcohol-related news.*

* We will only ever use your details in relation to our newsletter, media briefing and updates on our and our partners’ on-going work and events. Your details will not be shared.