The role of alcohol price in young adult drinking cultures in Scotland

Abstract

Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP) is one of the Scottish Government's key policy options to reduce alcohol consumption and related harm. Although strongly evidenced for efficacy in reducing headline population level consumption, efficacy in changing the role of alcohol in Scottish culture is unknown. Questions remain as to how MUP will play across population subgroups with different sensitivities to price. In this paper we explore the views of the young adult population and situate the influence of price paid for alcohol alongside broader cultural drivers of consumption. Qualitative data from two studies investigating the role of alcohol in the transition to adulthood from 130 participants (aged 16–30) are analysed to situate the influence of price paid in shaping drinking styles and practices. Findings highlight how considerations of price paid for alcohol compete with non-financial considerations associated with choosing to drink excessively, moderately or not at all. Two broad categories of response to potential price increases were anticipated by drinkers which indicate that young adults are not a homogenous group in relation to price sensitivity. These differences highlight the potential for variation in subgroup responses to a pricing policy conceived to be effective at a population level.

Cancer-related health behaviours of young people not in education, employment or training (‘NEET’): a cross-sectional study

“…Available socio-demographic and health-related significant risk factors could not explain the negative association between being NEET and heavy drinking when considering all NEETs. For example, although some previous research has reported lower levels of alcohol consumption amongst young mothers [ 16 , 49 ] and young people who are disabled [ 50 ], adjusting for gender did not alter the effect of NEET status on heavy drinking and limiting long-term illness was not significantly associated with heavy drinking in this study. However, this study did not control for whether respondents had children.…”

Does Industry-Driven Alcohol Marketing Influence Adolescent Drinking Behaviour? A Systematic Review

“…Previous authors have reported that price and affordability might not be as effective at reducing drinking in young people as in adults, or as compared to other strategies such as point of sale or offer restrictions (Meier et al ., 2009). As work in Scotland has concluded, young adults are not a homogeneous group in relation to price sensitivity, and considerations about the price of alcohol compete with non-financial considerations such as cultural norms regarding drinking activity (Seaman et al ., 2013). Eleven (of 14) placement studies reported mixed results.…”

Holidays, celebrations, and commiserations: measuring drinking during feasting and fasting to improve national and individual estimates of alcohol consumption

“…The increase is, however, not equally distributed, with the impact of adjustment generally decreasing with age in both males and females and, for instance, increasing units/week in 16- to 24-year-old females by more than 50% (Table 4 ). Younger drinkers often have expendable income and opportunity to incorporate weekly binges and increased alcohol consumption with celebrations of frequent special occasions [ 35 ]. Thus, for the highest risk drinkers aged 25 to 34, accounting for atypical and special occasion drinking was estimated to increase typical weekly consumption by around 18 units (Additional file 2 : Table S2).…”