It won't help, not at all. That said, the blame Westminster/London/UK routine won't disguise the reality that SNP policy failures have produced this tragic situation.
Which policies have produced the the situation? What should have been done differently? If it is preventative policy then we are back to austerity and crumbling infrastructure..
The SNP have - to be fair to them - admitted that their cuts to drug & alcohol rehabilitation beds has significantly worsened the ongoing crisis (back in 2020)
..and it is the Scotgov that made these cuts?? LA budgets have been slashed UK wide since 2008. If you check the numbers LA spending has been relatively protected by the Scotgov
It won't, but it should be a bit of a reminder that there's a finite pot of money to be spent more wisely.
The snp created the MUP which could have been used to raise funds to fight addiction but it merely resulted in a nice wee bonus to anyone selling alcohol. And the worst part is that MUP doesn't change the habits of problem drinkers. Raising it again in the next few months won't reduce the number of problem drinkers either, but it will increase the levels of household austerity that you seem quite keen to highlight.
Bizarre. PHS suggests that MUP has resulted in a 14% reduction in death rate and a 4 % reduction in hospital admissions. With the greatest reductions evidenced in the poorest areas..
I wish my brother was only 14% dead, but he's quite recently 100% dead, John.
His death will contribute in further reductions in hospital admissions - no more 6/7/8 days admission every 3 weeks will make a big difference. Isn't that great for stats?
Interesting to see reduced alcohol consumption in poorest areas, it's almost like increasing austerity prevents deaths. But austerity is bad, right?
Or maybe those addicted couldn't afford alcohol and switched to cheap drugs and contributed to the spike in drug deaths.
I doubt PHS would make up the stats to curry favour. They dont seem to have a problem reporting drug death rates rises. Stats are stats and I think we can ALL agree that a 14% reduction in death rate is a good thing. Also increasing preventative taxation and austerity are clearly not the same thing. We went through all this with cigarette taxation which got the "Tax on the poor" treatment from the tabloids in the 80s/90s... look at us now.
Look at us now? The cigarettes I smoke are now £17 per packet, yet I still smoke them, as do many other people. You're confusing the ban on smoking indoors in public spaces and the anti-social element of it with a reduction through increased taxation.
MUP and the next planned increase will not reduce the deaths of those with alcohol problems.
My brother only became an alcoholic after the introduction of MUP. It didn't stop him drinking. It didn't save his life.
Do you have a different experience with addictions - you, your family or friends, or are you relying on things you read?
How is labours doubling down on Tory austerity going to help the drug problem in Scotland?
It won't help, not at all. That said, the blame Westminster/London/UK routine won't disguise the reality that SNP policy failures have produced this tragic situation.
Which policies have produced the the situation? What should have been done differently? If it is preventative policy then we are back to austerity and crumbling infrastructure..
The SNP have - to be fair to them - admitted that their cuts to drug & alcohol rehabilitation beds has significantly worsened the ongoing crisis (back in 2020)
https://www.glasgowtimes.co.uk/news/18200346.snp-admit-cuts-hit-drug-services-amid-deaths-crisis-glasgow/
..and it is the Scotgov that made these cuts?? LA budgets have been slashed UK wide since 2008. If you check the numbers LA spending has been relatively protected by the Scotgov
It won't, but it should be a bit of a reminder that there's a finite pot of money to be spent more wisely.
The snp created the MUP which could have been used to raise funds to fight addiction but it merely resulted in a nice wee bonus to anyone selling alcohol. And the worst part is that MUP doesn't change the habits of problem drinkers. Raising it again in the next few months won't reduce the number of problem drinkers either, but it will increase the levels of household austerity that you seem quite keen to highlight.
Bizarre. PHS suggests that MUP has resulted in a 14% reduction in death rate and a 4 % reduction in hospital admissions. With the greatest reductions evidenced in the poorest areas..
Bizarre. Scotgov financed PHS writes report justifying scotgov policy.
I wish my brother was only 14% dead, but he's quite recently 100% dead, John.
His death will contribute in further reductions in hospital admissions - no more 6/7/8 days admission every 3 weeks will make a big difference. Isn't that great for stats?
Interesting to see reduced alcohol consumption in poorest areas, it's almost like increasing austerity prevents deaths. But austerity is bad, right?
Or maybe those addicted couldn't afford alcohol and switched to cheap drugs and contributed to the spike in drug deaths.
Does your PHS story cover this?
I doubt PHS would make up the stats to curry favour. They dont seem to have a problem reporting drug death rates rises. Stats are stats and I think we can ALL agree that a 14% reduction in death rate is a good thing. Also increasing preventative taxation and austerity are clearly not the same thing. We went through all this with cigarette taxation which got the "Tax on the poor" treatment from the tabloids in the 80s/90s... look at us now.
Look at us now? The cigarettes I smoke are now £17 per packet, yet I still smoke them, as do many other people. You're confusing the ban on smoking indoors in public spaces and the anti-social element of it with a reduction through increased taxation.
MUP and the next planned increase will not reduce the deaths of those with alcohol problems.
My brother only became an alcoholic after the introduction of MUP. It didn't stop him drinking. It didn't save his life.
Do you have a different experience with addictions - you, your family or friends, or are you relying on things you read?
Of course I rely on science and statistics. Anything else is anecdotal..