Alcohol harms on the agenda for Scottish Parliament Health, Social Care and Sport Committee

Professor Niamh Fitzgerald has given evidence to the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee on tackling alcohol harms in Scotland.

01 March 2022

SPECTRUM Deputy Director, Professor Niamh Fitzgerald, gave evidence to the Scottish Parliament Health, Social Care and Sport Committee as part of a session on tackling alcohol harms in Scotland.

Professor Fitzgerald was joined by Alison Douglas, Chief Executive of Alcohol Focus Scotland, Lucie Giles from Public Health Scotland, and Elinor Jayne, Director of Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems (SHAAP).

The session covered a number of issues, including the consumption of alcohol and alcohol harms during the pandemic, impact on health inequalities, and the effectiveness of current Scottish Government policies, including minimum unit pricing.

Discussing Scotland’s progress on tackling alcohol harm with regards to the World Health Organization “best buys” of affordability, attractiveness and availability, Professor Fitzgerald said:

In terms of alcohol harm reduction, the three key policies are to make alcohol less affordable, less available, and less attractive. Those are the World Health Organization’s “best buys”… Although Scotland is very much viewed as a leader in alcohol policy worldwide, there is still a lot that could be done on all three.

Professor Niamh Fitzgerald SPECTRUM Deputy Director