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. [1]

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.