In response to “New Leadership, A Fresh Start for Scotland” speech by First Minister Humza Yousaf, Matt Lambert, CEO of the Portman Group – the alcohol social responsibility body and marketing regulator said:
“We welcome the announcement by First Minister Humza Yousaf and support his comments that ‘the business community itself recognises that unrestricted marketing is incompatible with the well-being of our people’. This is why the Portman Group exists – to ensure that alcohol is marketed responsibly and particularly not to under-18s, and have done so effectively for over 25 years.
“We also support other not-for-profit groups which help ensure underage alcohol consumption continues to fall, as seen in the past decade and more*. These include measures that restrict sales of alcohol so they cannot be made to those under 18 (Challenge 25); youth education schemes (Alcohol Education Trust), and community groups which work with the police and social workers to divert children from drinking (Community Alcohol Partnerships).
“We welcome the call to engage, and hope to work with the Scottish Government to continue to address harmful and underage drinking and actively support and extend the good work of other not-for-profit groups.”
* Scottish Health Survey, November 2022