NCD Alliance Calls for Minimum Unit Pricing Legislation in Northern Ireland
Members of the Non-Communicable Disease Alliance NI, which is made up of health charities and organisations, have issued an urgent appeal to the Northern Ireland Executive to introduce legislation for Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP) for alcohol, warning that continued delay and blockages within the Executive will result in mounting strain on our already over-stretched health services and deaths that could be avoided.
Alcohol consumption is a leading contributor to non-communicable diseases including heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes, lung conditions and liver disease. Since 2013, Alcohol specific deaths in Northern Ireland rose by 65.5% with 2022 recording the highest since figures were published.1
Research commissioned by NCD Alliance NI from the University of Sheffield estimates that alcohol contributes to at least 676 deaths and 7,426 hospital admissions each year in Northern Ireland, costing the health service £19 million annually, excluding Accident & Emergency attendances and ambulance callouts.2
MUP is already in place in the Republic of Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The NCD Alliance warns that Northern Ireland is being left behind, despite support from the Minister for Health, Mike Nesbitt MLA, and mounting evidence that the policy reduces alcohol-related harm, particularly among the heaviest drinkers and in the most deprived communities.
MUP sets the lowest price at which alcohol can be sold, calculated according to the number of units of alcohol a product contains.
The NCD Alliance understands that the Department of Health is prepared to begin the legislative process before the end of the current mandate but requires Executive approval urgently to allow sufficient time for the Assembly to progress the legislation.
Liam Duggan, Chair of the Northern Ireland NCD Alliance and Policy & Public Affairs Manager at British Heart Foundation Northern Ireland said:
“Every week that passes without action represents lives lost that could have been saved, families impacted by avoidable harm, and millions of pounds in preventable strain on our health and social care system.
“Despite the evidence being clear that MUP is an effective and targeted measure, legislation to introduce it has been stalled within the Executive.
“The NCD Alliance is calling on Ministers to prioritise public health and bring forward legislation for the Minimum Unit Pricing of alcohol without further delay.”
Colin Angus, Professor of Alcohol Policy at the University of Sheffield said:
“Minimum Unit Pricing has the potential to make a significant positive impact on the substantial burden that alcohol places on Northern Ireland. Where MUP has been implemented in other countries, including Scotland, high quality research studies have found reductions in alcohol consumption and alcohol-related harms, with the biggest impacts on the most vulnerable groups.
A key feature of MUP is that it only affects the high-strength, lower-price alcohol that is overwhelmingly drank by heavier drinkers, while leaving the prices of more expensive and lower-strength products unaffected. This is in contrast to increases in alcohol taxes, which increase the prices of all alcohol to a similar extent.”