Labour MP for Liverpool Walton Dan Carden, who has talked openly
in parliament about his personal experience of alcohol addiction,
is proposing amendments to the Health and Care Bill intended to
reduce alcohol harm.
Working in partnership with the Alcohol Health Alliance and
Alcohol Change UK, Carden’s amendments call for improved
regulation of alcohol marketing and labelling, for a minimum unit
price in England and for better assessment of treatment outcomes.
Carden said, “As a society, we have a complex relationship with
alcohol. While we celebrate and normalise its consumption, we
stay silent about its harm. Every year, thousands of people die
because of their alcohol consumption and many more are harmed.
The harm goes far beyond the individual who drinks too much; it
affects children, families, communities and society.”
Alcohol consumption and deaths have spiralled over the past 18
months with alcohol-specific deaths now at the highest levels
since records began. Alcohol harm is doing its worst damage in
the most deprived parts of the country, particularly in the
north.
Alcohol is now the leading risk factor for ill health, early
mortality and disability among those aged 15-49 in England
and the total costs of alcohol to our society are estimated
to be at least £27 billion every year. It is estimated that
alcohol costs NHS England £3.5 Billion every year.
It is well established that regulating the price of alcohol is an
effective way to reduce the harm caused by alcohol consumption.
Minimum Unit Pricing sets a floor price based on the amount of
alcohol a product contains. It was introduced in Scotland in May
2018 and in Wales in March 2020. The Republic of Ireland is set
to implement Minimum Unit Pricing on 1st January
2022.
Dan Carden said: “Minimum Unit Pricing targets the
cheapest alcoholic products with the highest strengths, such as
strong white cider, own brand vodka and gin, and super-strength
lager.
There are many myths surrounding Minimum Unit Pricing,
mainly that it would harm our pub and hospitality
industry. It would have almost no effect on any drink sold
in a pub.”
Early evaluation data from Public Health Scotland (PHS) has found
that alcohol sales and consumption decreased following the
introduction of Minimum Unit Pricing.
There were also early signs of a reduction in the number of
alcohol specific deaths (10% in 2019) and alcohol-related liver
disease hospital admissions, indicating that MUP was having the
beneficial effects.
The last national alcohol strategy was 2012 and since then,
alcohol policy has remained in a policy vacuum. If this
Government is serious about addressing the unacceptable health
disparities that exist across the country, tackling alcohol harm
and implementing evidence-based policies must be its priority.
Professor Sir Ian Gilmore, Chair of the Alcohol Health
Alliance UK, said:
“This bill provides the opportunity for the Government to
introduce the life-saving minimum unit pricing policy in England.
Minimum unit pricing already exists in Scotland and Wales and is
proving to be successful. Despite substantial evidence that this
policy is working, England is the only part of the UK without
plans for MUP and lags dangerously behind in the race to tackle
alcohol harm.
“The simplest way to reduce the amount of alcohol drunk is by
increasing the price. MUP does this by targeting the cheapest
drinks on the market without penalising those that drink
moderately. Reducing the overall consumption of alcohol will in
turn reduce its harm, saving lives and reducing hospital
admissions. Including MUP in the Health and Care Bill should be
an obvious choice if this Government wants to improve our
nation’s health.”
Lucy Holmes, Director of Research and Policy, Alcohol
Change UK, said:
“Millions of people are suffering from worsened mental and
physical health every day as a result of harmful drinking – a
huge 1 in 10 hospital inpatients are alcohol-dependent – and the
harm ripples out, affecting children, families and communities.
In 2020, deaths caused wholly by alcohol rose by 20% - the
tragic impact of alcohol harm and an unacceptable and avoidable
loss of life that is on the rise. To prevent this crisis from
further deepening, the government must act now.”
“We are pleased that , Vice Chair of the APPG
on Alcohol Harm, has tabled amendments to the Health and Care
Bill. All of these amendments, if adopted, would contribute to
reducing harm and better supporting people who are
dependent on alcohol
Editors Notes:
Dan Carden NC17 ∗ To move the following
Clause—
“Minimum unit price for alcohol
- (1) The Secretary of State must by regulations make
provision to ensure alcoholic drinks, as defined by the
Department for Health and Social Care’s Low Alcohol Descriptors
Guidance published in 2018, or in later versions of that
document, are liable to a minimum unit price.
- (2) The regulations must provide for the minimum unit
price to be calculated by applying the formula M x S x V,
where—
- (a) M is the minimum unit price, expressed in
pounds sterling,
- (b) S is the percentage strength of the alcohol,
expressed as a cardinal number, and
- (c) V is the volume of the alcohol, expressed in
litres.”
Member’s explanatory statement
This new clause requires the Secretary of State to introduce
secondary legislation that applies a minimum unit price to
alcohol.
