HEHTA involved in new alcohol policy evaluation

Published: 14 March 2018

A new study aims to determine whether the introduction of the minimum unit pricing (MUP) for alcohol in Scotland has had an impact on alcohol-related ambulance call-outs

Last January, Professor James Lewsey, jointly with other researchers from the University of Stirling and University of Sheffield, won a grant for a study on an alcohol policy evaluation in Scotland. Specifically, the study named “The Impact of Minimum Pricing of Alcohol on Ambulance call-outs in Scotland”, wants to determine whether the introduction of the minimum unit pricing (MUP) for alcohol in Scotland, increasing the price for cheap alcohol, had an impact on alcohol-related ambulance call-outs.

The study is supposed to have high relevance, especially providing real world evidence of the policy effects of a much talked about law. The study will try to detect not only the overall ambulance calls difference due to the MUP, but also the related economic effect (direct costs or cost saving), and the main characteristics of the population calling the ambulances (e.g. sex, age and socioeconomic status).

After his successful project and high impact paper on drink-driving policies in Scotland, Professor Lewsey is improving even further his expertise and research portfolio in this area, analysing how new alcohol-related policies could affect citizens lifestyle and healthcare expenditure


First published: 14 March 2018