The number of harmful drinkers could be reduced by nearly 5,000
people under plans to raise the minimum unit price of alcohol in
Wales.
The Welsh Government is consulting on both maintaining the
Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP) for alcohol in Wales beyond March 2026
and raising the unit price from 50p to 65p.
The policy, which came into force in Wales in March 2020, aims to
tackle alcohol-related harm by reducing alcohol consumption in
hazardous and harmful drinkers.
Minimum Unit Pricing is targeted at high-strength drinks sold at
very low prices and drunk in large volumes.
Modelling data suggests raising the MUP to 65p per unit could
further reduce harmful alcohol consumption, as well as encourage
more people to drink at moderate levels instead.
It could also lower the number of hazardous drinkers by more than
6,300 and harmful drinkers by nearly 5,000, reducing hospital
admissions and deaths attributed to alcohol.
Drinking large quantities of high-strength alcoholic drinks puts
people at long-term risk of cancer, stroke, heart disease, liver
disease and brain damage.
Minimum pricing for alcohol is not designed to work in isolation
and, combined with a wide range of health policies in the
substance misuse sector, is targeted towards prevention, support
and recovery and tackling availability.
Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing said: “Since we
brought minimum unit pricing into place there has been a
pandemic, a cost-of-living crisis and high inflation.
“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 consultation launched earlier this week and is open until
September 29.
Notes to editors
Setting the minimum price
of alcohol beyond 2026 | GOV.WALES
Written Statement: Report
on the Operation and Effect of Minimum Unit Pricing for Alcohol
(10 July 2025) | GOV.WALES
Written Statement:
Independent Evaluations of Minimum Unit Pricing for Alcohol (15
January 2025) | GOV.WALES
Operation and effect of
the minimum pricing for alcohol provisions 2020 to 2025 |
GOV.WALES
Research into minimum
pricing for alcohol | GOV.WALES
Time to Talk research from
Public Health Wales
