Alcohol “curtains” should be among a new range of measures to tackle Scotland’s harmful relationship with drink, according to public health experts.
Raising minimum prices, although helpful, is not enough on its own to drive down the high number of daily deaths and hospital admissions from alcohol-related causes, campaigners say.
Concern has grown after research revealed that the number of ambulance call-outs for late-night drinking incidents fell sharply when licensed premises were closed or under curfew during pandemic lockdowns.
However, there was also evidence that domestic abuse incidents rose during the same periods, suggesting more drinking was being carried out in homes. One problem was the widespread availability of alcohol both online and in shops without any restrictions on marketing.
Public Health Scotland figures
Source: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/booze-curtains-can-cut-sales-in-scotland-say-experts-k8hljb2nn