Under-21 booze ban success
A ban on the off-trade selling alcohol to under-21s on Friday and Saturday evenings in Fife has led to a 60% drop in calls to police and a 45% drop in actual offences.
Public health minister Shona Robison visited retailers in Cupar to see how the scheme was working.
The Scottish Government wants to ban off-trade sales to under-21s and introduce minimum pricing as part of its plan to deal with binge and underage drinking.
"Clearly I think there are huge long-term health benefits from cutting down on alcohol intake and, for young people, delaying the age at which they start drinking regularly in order to develop a more mature relationship with alcohol," she said.
"But what this pilot shows is that, when the police, retailers and residents work together we can have a huge impact on anti-social behaviour for the good of the whole community.
"Raising the off-sales alcohol age to 21 is just one of our proposals to tackle alcohol misuse, which costs Scotland more than £2.25bn pounds per year.
"We've also suggested having a minimum price for a unit of alcohol to end 'pocket money pricing' of some high-strength drinks and a social responsibility fee for some retailers.
"Taken together, we think our proposals could help bring about the cultural shift in attitudes to alcohol we think is needed, in order for Scotland to reach its full potential."
Local retailer Paul Caira, who owns the Central Café in Cupar, said: "We had a lot of young kids hanging around outside the café and it was very intimidating for the customers, especially in the evenings.
"We're now not selling to under-21s on a Friday and Saturday between 4pm and 10pm and I've really noticed the difference. Now, there are hardly any young people hanging around on the streets and the ones you do see are not under the influence.
"I think it's also cut down on the 'agent buying' that we saw in Cupar, where young people who had just finished school were buying alcohol for their younger friends.
"When they're three years older they're much less likely to be hanging around with under-18s."
