Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36963415›Full record

ArticleLancet (London, England)2023

Evaluating the impact of alcohol minimum unit pricing on deaths and hospitalisations in Scotland: a controlled interrupted time series study.

Grant M A Wyper, Daniel F Mackay, Catriona Fraser, Jim Lewsey, Mark Robinson, Clare Beeston, Lucie Giles

Abstract read
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Article in Lancet (London, England), 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 52 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
52citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

52 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
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  13. Natural experiments in the built environment: evaluating impacts on health.Health promotion and chronic disease prevention in Canada : research, policy and practice · 2026
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  18. The Political Economy of Health Inequality.International journal of social determinants of health and health services · 2026
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Grant M A WyperPlace and Wellbeing Directorate, Public Health Scotland, Glasgow, UK; School of Health and Wellbeing, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK. Electronic address: grant.wyper@phs.scot.
Daniel F MackaySchool of Health and Wellbeing, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK.
Catriona FraserPlace and Wellbeing Directorate, Public Health Scotland, Glasgow, UK.
Jim LewseySchool of Health and Wellbeing, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK.
Mark RobinsonSchool of Health and Wellbeing, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK; Institute for Social Science Research, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
Clare BeestonPlace and Wellbeing Directorate, Public Health Scotland, Glasgow, UK.
Lucie GilesPlace and Wellbeing Directorate, Public Health Scotland, Glasgow, UK.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundSince May 1, 2018, every alcoholic drink sold in Scotland has had minimum unit pricing (MUP) of £0·50 per unit. Previous studies have indicated that the introduction of this policy reduced alcohol sales by 3%. We aimed to assess whether this has led to reductions in alcohol-attributable deaths and hospitalisations.

methodsStudy outcomes, wholly attributable to alcohol consumption, were defined using routinely collected data on deaths and hospitalisations. Controlled interrupted time series regression was used to assess the legislation's impact in Scotland, and any effect modification across demographic and socioeconomic deprivation groups. The pre-intervention time series ran from Jan 1, 2012, to April 30, 2018, and for 32 months after the policy was implemented (until Dec 31, 2020). Data from England, a part of the UK where the intervention was not implemented, were used to form a control group.

findingsMUP in Scotland was associated with a significant 13·4% reduction (95% CI -18·4 to -8·3; p=0·0004) in deaths wholly attributable to alcohol consumption. Hospitalisations wholly attributable to alcohol consumption decreased by 4·1% (-8·3 to 0·3; p=0·064). Effects were driven by significant improvements in chronic outcomes, particularly alcoholic liver disease. Furthermore, MUP legislation was associated with a reduction in deaths and hospitalisations wholly attributable to alcohol consumption in the four most socioeconomically deprived deciles in Scotland.

interpretationThe implementation of MUP legislation was associated with significant reductions in deaths, and reductions in hospitalisations, wholly attributable to alcohol consumption. The greatest improvements were in the four most socioeconomically deprived deciles, indicating that the policy is positively tackling deprivation-based inequalities in alcohol-attributable health harm.

fundingScottish Government.

Indexed as

Alcohol DrinkingAlcoholic BeveragesCommerceCosts and Cost AnalysisEthanolHospitalizationHumansInterrupted Time Series AnalysisScotlandTime FactorsEthanol

Identifiers

PMID36963415
PMCPMC10154457

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.