Minimum unit pricing

Minimum unit pricing is a way of getting people to drink less alcohol. A price is set for a unit of alcohol and people are not allowed to sell it for less.

There have been rules about this in Canada for some time. In 2018 Scotland set a limit of £0.50 for eight grams of alcohol. The Northern Territory, Australia set a limit in October 2018, Wales in 2020 and Ireland in 2022. The effects have been studied. Fewer people ended up in hospital because of drinking after these rules started.

References

  1. ↑ Maharaj, Tobias; Angus, Colin; Fitzgerald, Niamh; Allen, Kathryn; Stewart, Stephen; MacHale, Siobhan; Ryan, John D. (2023-02-01). "Impact of minimum unit pricing on alcohol-related hospital outcomes: systematic review". BMJ Open. 13 (2) e065220. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2022-065220. ISSN 2044-6055. PMC 9900069. PMID 36737089.