The medical argument for minimum unit price of alcohol

19 September 2014

This slow, but poignant epidemic is a result of increased consumption of strong cheap alcohol, as highlighted in a research paper published by the University of Southampton last month. 

The paper entitled ‘The Impact of minimum price per unit of alcohol on patients with liver disease in the UK’ examined alcohol consumption in 404 subjects with a range of liver disease.  It confirmed that patients with alcohol-related cirrhosis drank huge amounts of cheap alcohol, with a mean weekly consumption of 146 units in men and 142 in women at a median price of 33p/unit compared with £1.10 for low-risk drinkers.

The researchers conclude that for the subjects of its study, the impact of a minimum unit price of 50p/unit on spending on alcohol would be 200 times higher for patients with liver disease who were drinking at harmful levels than for low-risk drinkers.

This suggests that as a health policy, a newly introduced minimum unit price for alcohol would be most effective for those heavy drinkers on lower incomes.

As per the recommendations made by the Alcohol Health Alliance in their #21billion campaign, Alcohelp supports the introduction of a minimum price of at least 50p per unit for alcohol sales together with a mechanism to regularly review the price.