News

Comment on MUP in Northern Ireland

Alcohol Focus Scotland has welcomed the announcement that Northern Ireland Executive will introduce legislation on Minimum Unit Pricing.

Commenting on the news, Alison Douglas, CEO of Alcohol Focus Scotland said:

“We welcome news from Stormont that Health Minister, Mike Nesbitt, is seeking Executive support to progress legislation to introduce minimum unit pricing (MUP) for alcohol in Northern Ireland, following the success of the policy in Scotland. This could leave England as the only part of the UK without MUP, despite suffering record alcohol deaths.

“Independent evaluation of the policy in Scotland has estimated that 156 lives have been saved and 411 hospital admissions averted each year since MUP came into effect. Additionally - as Mr Nesbitt has highlighted – minimum pricing is effective in reducing health inequalities. 

“The Minister has noted the importance of setting the price at the right level. It’s also important that any price that is set keeps pace with inflation, otherwise its impact will be eroded over time. That’s why we welcome the decision by the Scottish Parliament to increase the price in Scotland to 65p per unit, from last month. We now need an automatic uprating mechanism to maintain the life-saving impact of the policy going forward. Northern Ireland has the opportunity to include this mechanism from the start.

“Scotland has been bold in implementing public health policies that make a real difference; as we need to be given the serious problems we face. Sadly, recent decisions by the Scottish Government, including a further delay to consulting on alcohol marketing restrictions, mean we are in danger of losing our place as a global leader on alcohol policy. 

“We can ill afford to take our eye off the ball when alcohol deaths in this country are at a 15-year high. We call on the Scottish Government to put public health before profits and once again take the lead in tackling what they themselves have declared as a public health emergency.”