Government urged to introduce minimum price for alcohol
MUPs have already been introduced in Scotland and Wales.
Minimum unit pricing for alcohol was associated with a 13% decrease in deaths from alcohol consumption in Scotland, according to a new study.
Read this and more in our latest issue: https://t.co/ydjx6DVTxa pic.twitter.com/6vQKZ6cxIs
— The Lancet (@TheLancet) April 21, 2023
A consultation was launched by Welsh officials on Wednesday to maintain MUP for alcohol in Wales beyond March 2026, and raising the unit price from 50p to 65p.
The Welsh Government said that the number of harmful drinkers could be reduced by nearly 5,000 people as a result of the plans.
It comes as officials in England have been urged to introduce a MUP after health experts warned that plans to tackle problem drinking 'are not sufficient to address the scale and complexity of harm'.
Academics, medics and charities from around the country have urged ministers to take 'ambitious' action to tackle the 'scale of the current crisis'.
The UK Government recently set out plans to improve the health of people in England over the next decade.
But in a letter to Health Secretary Wes Streeting, shared with the PA news agency, experts said that the public 'want and deserve' more action to tackle the harms.
The letter has been signed by 34 health leaders from leading health organisations including the Alcohol Health Alliance; the Royal College of Physicians; the Royal College of General Practitioners and the Royal College of Emergency Medicine.
Experts have called for a series of measures, including:
– A call for the introduction of MUP in England, as seen in Scotland and Wales.
– Giving local authorities the power to regulate hours of sale and online deliveries of alcohol.
– For advertising regulations for alcohol to be 'aligned' with those for foods high in fat, salt and sugar.
– A change to alcohol tax, linking duties to inflation and ending 'cider exceptionalism'.
– More funding and support for local alcohol care teams.
The authors conclude: 'The public want and deserve action, and we stand ready to work with Government to deliver real progress.
'By taking meaningful and co-ordinated action now, the burden of alcohol harm can fall significantly within the term of this Government, with visible results for families, the NHS, crime, and the economy.'
The Department of Health and Social Care said it will continue to consider the most effective interventions to reduce alcohol harms.
A spokesperson said: 'As we shift from sickness to prevention through our 10-Year Health Plan, we will make it mandatory for alcoholic drinks to display health warnings and nutritional information.
'To improve drug and alcohol treatment services and recovery support in England, the Government has also provided an additional £310 million in 2025/26, on top of the public health grant.'
A spokesperson for the Portman Group said: 'As the alcohol industry regulatory body for marketing, we welcome the chance to work constructively with the Government on the proposals within its 10 year plan to help more consumers make an informed choice and drink moderately.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Wales Online
42 minutes ago
- Wales Online
Faye Winter tells of ‘terrifying' weeks before Love Island due to botched Botox
Faye Winter tells of 'terrifying' weeks before Love Island due to botched Botox It comes as ministers announce plans to cut down on "cowboy" cosmetic procedures by introducing new restrictions on who can access and provide treatments. Reality star Faye Winter appeared on Good Morning Britain to discuss her cosmetic surgery bad experience (Image: ITV) Reality TV star Faye Winter has said it was "pretty terrifying" to be subject to botched Botox treatment in the weeks leading up to her stint on Love Island. It comes as ministers announce plans to cut down on "cowboy" cosmetic procedures by introducing new restrictions on who can access and provide treatments. Winter, 30, who appeared on the ITV dating show in 2021, said the Government is taking "a massive step in the right direction" and added that the NHS should not be covering the cost of corrective treatment for botched surgeries. Speaking about the weeks leading up to her Love Island appearance, she told ITV's Good Morning Britain (GMB): "It was pretty terrifying. I wanted to look a certain way. I wanted to look the best version of myself, knowing that I was going on national television. "I went to somebody to do my Botox that I hadn't been to before, and he told me that he was medically trained. I believed him, as so many of us do. "I later found out that he was a property developer, and he had put too much Botox into my forehead, meaning my full forehead just had nothing in it. I couldn't move it and it was fully relaxed. "It was paralysed, and I literally had to wait it out, not knowing if it (the feeling) was or wasn't going to come back." Winter explained that her forehead "had relaxed" and that her eyelids and eyebrows had "drooped". The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has said that steps will be taken to protect people from "rogue operators" with no medical training who often provide "invasive" procedures in homes, hotels and pop-up clinics. The DHSC also said the move to introduce new restrictions will reduce the cost imposed on the NHS to fix botched procedures. Winter added: "I think obviously it's a massive step in the right direction. This is only for four years I've been speaking about (it). "So for the Government to even acknowledge it is amazing. But there's also parts of it that I do think, where they say, you know licences... what are they going to look like? "Does somebody just need a passport number at a UK address and they still get a licence? We don't know what that quite looks like yet, and I think it's really important that we know those finer details." Speaking on whether the NHS should pay for corrective treatments, she said: "I don't think that we as taxpayers should be paying for that. I never asked anybody to pay for my correction work, and that was on me, and I had to learn the hard way." Winter was on series seven of the ITV dating show Love Island and was seen coupling up with Teddy Soares. Article continues below Before the proposed regulations come into force, the Government has urged people seeking cosmetic procedures to ask for the provider's qualifications and insurance, and to be wary of "suspiciously cheap" offers. It comes after health officials launched an investigation after a number of people had reactions to Botox injections earlier this year.
Cambrian News
3 hours ago
- Cambrian News
Qualified paramedics being 'wasted' in Wales
According to figures from Health Secretary Jeremy Miles - outlined in a letter to Mid and West Wales MS Jane Dodds - only 20 of 67 paramedic graduates in Wales this year will be hired, despite the Welsh Ambulance Service requesting 86 Paramedics to be trained and paid for through Welsh Government funding.
Leader Live
5 hours ago
- Leader Live
Faye Winter tells of ‘terrifying' weeks before Love Island due to botched Botox
It comes as ministers announce plans to cut down on 'cowboy' cosmetic procedures by introducing new restrictions on who can access and provide treatments. Winter, 30, who appeared on the ITV dating show in 2021, said the Government is taking 'a massive step in the right direction' and added that the NHS should not be covering the cost of corrective treatment for botched surgeries. Speaking about the weeks leading up to her Love Island appearance, she told ITV's Good Morning Britain (GMB): 'It was pretty terrifying. I wanted to look a certain way. I wanted to look the best version of myself, knowing that I was going on national television. 'I went to somebody to do my Botox that I hadn't been to before, and he told me that he was medically trained. I believed him, as so many of us do. 'I later found out that he was a property developer, and he had put too much Botox into my forehead, meaning my full forehead just had nothing in it. I couldn't move it and it was fully relaxed. 'It was paralysed, and I literally had to wait it out, not knowing if it (the feeling) was or wasn't going to come back.' Winter explained that her forehead 'had relaxed' and that her eyelids and eyebrows had 'drooped'. The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has said that steps will be taken to protect people from 'rogue operators' with no medical training who often provide 'invasive' procedures in homes, hotels and pop-up clinics. The DHSC also said the move to introduce new restrictions will reduce the cost imposed on the NHS to fix botched procedures. Winter added: 'I think obviously it's a massive step in the right direction. This is only for four years I've been speaking about (it). 'So for the Government to even acknowledge it is amazing. But there's also parts of it that I do think, where they say, you know licences… what are they going to look like? 'Does somebody just need a passport number at a UK address and they still get a licence? We don't know what that quite looks like yet, and I think it's really important that we know those finer details.' Speaking on whether the NHS should pay for corrective treatments, she said: 'I don't think that we as taxpayers should be paying for that. I never asked anybody to pay for my correction work, and that was on me, and I had to learn the hard way.' Winter was on series seven of the ITV dating show Love Island and was seen coupling up with Teddy Soares. Before the proposed regulations come into force, the Government has urged people seeking cosmetic procedures to ask for the provider's qualifications and insurance, and to be wary of 'suspiciously cheap' offers. It comes after health officials launched an investigation after a number of people had reactions to Botox injections earlier this year.
