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.