Balance responds to Minimum Unit Price stalling in Northern Ireland
Balance has responded to news that Minimum Unit Pricing for alcohol will not be introduced in Northern Ireland during this assembly, despite support for the policy.
Ailsa Rutter OBE, Director of Fresh and Balance, said: “Cheap alcohol is fuelling widespread harm —from cancers and liver disease to crime and disorder in local communities, problems for countless families and alcohol dependence.
“Minimum Unit Price is an effective tool which could cut deaths and hospital admissions right across the UK, especially in the most disadvantaged communities that suffer the most. MUP now stalling in Northern Ireland reminds us again how much influence alcohol companies have in lobbying and exerting pressure on governments.”
She added: “In England it is still possible to drink more than the weekly guidelines for under £10. Pubs would be largely unaffected by a Minimum Unit Price, which would address the main problem of cheap alcohol bought from shops driving illness and the 24/7 pressures on our emergency services.”
- Alcohol contributes to nearly 980,000 hospital admissions and secondary diagnoses in England each year, including conditions such as cardiovascular disease, mental and behavioural disorders, cancers, and liver disease
- Alcohol is a factor in around 525,000 alcohol-related violent incidents a year in England and Wales.
- The financial cost of alcohol is immense, with the North East alone incurring costs of around £1.5 billion annually in health, crime and disorder, social care, and economic costs (3), and nearly £27.4 billion across England.
Balance’s “Reducing Alcohol Harm”, is a blueprint calling for urgent national action to tackle the significant impact of alcohol on health, social care, crime, disorder, workplaces, and the economy. More than 3/4 of North East adults consider alcohol to be a problem both regionally and nationally.
