Wales considers hike in minimum alcohol pricing to curb harmful drinking

The proposal to raise minimum unit price to 65p could reduce number of harmful drinkers by 5,000, says Welsh Government.

The Welsh Government has launched a public consultation on proposals to raise the minimum unit price (MUP) of alcohol from 50p to 65p, in a move aimed at tackling harmful drinking and reducing alcohol-related hospital admissions and deaths.

The consultation will also consider whether to extend the policy, currently in place until March 2026.

Potential health impacts

Modelling suggests increasing the MUP to 65p could reduce the number of hazardous drinkers in Wales by over 6,300, and cut the number of harmful drinkers by nearly 5,000. The proposed change could also encourage more people to drink at moderate levels.

Minimum Unit Pricing was introduced in Wales in March 2020 to target high-strength alcohol sold at low cost and consumed in large volumes. The policy focuses on reducing consumption among hazardous and harmful drinkers, rather than moderate consumers.

The Welsh Government says drinking large quantities of high-strength alcohol increases the risk of a range of health issues, including cancer, stroke, heart disease, liver disease and brain damage.

MUP ‘no longer effective’ at 50p

Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing Sarah Murphy said the current rate of 50p per unit has been eroded by inflation and is no longer significantly influencing the price of the cheapest alcohol products.

“Since we brought minimum unit pricing into place there has been a pandemic, a cost-of-living crisis and high inflation,” said Murphy.

“Despite all of these, research through independent evaluations has shown the policy, which is not a tax, has had a positive impact and has helped reduce levels of harmful drinking.

“We’re consulting on raising the level as high inflation has made the 50p rate ineffective and reduced its value in real terms to 39p in 2020 prices.

“Due to this it is no longer significantly influencing the price of the cheapest alcohol and we need to review it.”

The MUP is part of a wider approach to substance misuse, which also focuses on prevention, support, recovery and restricting availability.

The consultation is open until 29 September.

Related news

Will Scotland increase its minimum alcohol unit price to 65p?

Minimum alcohol pricing has no 'significant' impact on Scottish drinks industry, report finds

Ban on sale of cheap alcohol has cost Scots £270m, new research finds