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This report was commissioned in 2019 in order to estimate the impact of the UK Government’s decision in 2012/13 to abolish the alcohol duty escalator and its subsequent cuts and freezes in alcohol duty.
The findings of the Sheffield Alcohol Policy Model suggest that:
- Changes in UK alcohol duty since 2012 have led to increased levels of alcohol consumption, greater levels of alcohol-related ill health, premature mortality, higher rates of alcohol-related crime and workplace absence than if the alcohol duty escalator had remained in place until 2015 as originally planned
- There have been almost 2,000 additional deaths caused by alcohol in England and 250 more in Scotland as a result of these changes in Government policy since 2012.
- These additional deaths have occurred disproportionately in more deprived households, widening inequalities in health
- Since 2012 there have been an additional 66,000 hospital admissions in England and Scotland, at a cost of £341m to the NHS, compared to if the duty escalator had remained until 2015
- Reintroducing an alcohol duty escalator in 2020 would be an effective way to reduce alcohol consumption and related harms, resulting in an estimated 4,700 fewer deaths in England and 420 in Scotland over the period to 2032 as a result.
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