Campaigners urge First Minister John Swinney to abandon push for lower UK alcohol duty

Alcohol Focus Scotland sent a strongly worded letter to First Minister John Swinney, expressing disappointment that his programme does not specifically address the pending Alcohol Harm Prevention Plan and that he intends to press the UK Government to ease alcohol duty. The charity argues that cheaper alcohol drives higher consumption, citing a 73% increase in affordability between 1987 and 2020 and linking past duty reductions to an estimated 65,942 additional hospital admissions in England and Scotland.

It notes that alcohol contributes to at least 35% of violent crime in Scotland, undermining Swinney’s commitment to tackling violence against women. The organization calls for the reintroduction of a duty escalator that would raise non-draught alcohol taxes by 2% above inflation each year, projecting £3.4 billion in UK revenue over five years. It stresses that public-health leadership should outweigh industry profit motives. The Scottish Government has been approached for comment.