SNP Government considers banning pint glass logos in battle to reduce deaths from alcohol
dailyrecord.co.ukThe SNP Government has ordered experts to study the impact of banning alcohol-branded pint glasses, umbrellas, and T-shirts in a bid to tackle booze deaths.Health Secretary Neil Gray told MSPs on Thursday that Public Health Scotland will look into reducing alcohol marketing to stop people from developing drinking problems.
This could include stopping bar staff from serving pints in Guinness or Tennent's glasses or wearing brewery logo T-shirts.It comes just days after it was revealed that alcohol deaths in Scotland were at a 15-year high.
There were 1,277 fatalities attributed to alcohol-specific causes in last year, an increase of one death from 2022.Health groups have welcomed the announcement but slammed the government for its lack of urgency.
It comes after a consultation on the topic ended in November last year.Gray said in a Holyrood statement: "It is clear that steps to reduce alcohol harm are vital to supporting good public health and to reduce alcohol specific deaths."It is therefore vital that we are clear on the evidence and that proposals would be effective, that action to reduce alcohol harm supports good public health and would reduce alcohol specific deaths, and that decisions we take are led by evidence, balanced with the potential impact on the wider economy."Therefore I will commission Public Health Scotland to carry out a review of the evidence on the range of options to reduce exposure to alcohol marketing, to help us in this aim."Dr Peter Rice, Chair of medical royal colleges partnership Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems (SHAAP), said: “Today’s statement did not have the urgency required if we want to see fewer people live in poor health for many years and for fewer people to die...
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