On March 2, 2020, the minimum unit pricing (MUP) policy came into effect in Wales. The minimum price for a unit of alcohol was set at 50 pence.
The introduction of the MUP policy in Wales underwent a rigorous evidence-based process starting in 2014 with the first modeling study. Since then, the Welsh government has taken serious steps to develop assess, develop, and implement an evidence-based, public health oriented MUP.
| September 2014 | First modeling of minimum pricing for alcohol in Wales published. |
| October 2017 | Public Health (Minimum Price for Alcohol) (Wales) Bill introduced. |
| February 2018 | Second modeling of minimum pricing for alcohol in Wales published. |
| June 2018 | Public Health (Minimum Price for Alcohol) (Wales) Act passed in Wales. |
| November 2019 | 50p agreed as Minimum Unit Price for Wales. |
| 02 March 2020 | Minimum pricing for alcohol implemented in Wales. |
The Welsh MUP policy is set to be reviewed by the government in March 2026. It would be extended based on the effectiveness of the policy.
The Welsh government implemented the MUP policy to reduce the alcohol burden in Wales.
- In 2017, 1 in 5 adults in Wales were using alcohol heavily.
- This means they were using more than 14 units of alcohol per week (as per UK guidelines).
- Hospital admissions linked to alcohol were estimated to cost the Welsh NHS £120 million a year.
- The second modeling study found that introducing minimum pricing for alcohol would be the most effective policy for reducing alcohol consumption and harm in Wales.
So far, the following effects on alcohol use have been observed as a result of the introduction of the MUP policy in Wales:
- A study published in the Lancet found that household alcohol purchases in Wales decreased by 8.6% as prices rose by 8.2%.
- The reductions in purchases were seen in households that bought the most alcohol.
- MUP was not related to increased spending on alcohol among most low-income households, indicating MUP works as intended.
- In a poll by Alcohol Change UK of 1000 people in Wales who use alcohol, three-quarters said they knew about the MUP policy.
- Out of them 10% said they reduced their alcohol use because of MUP.
Findings summarized, this means:
- The reductions in purchases were seen in households that bought the most alcohol.
- Spending on alcohol did not increase among households who usually bought less alcohol and among most low income households.
- But the MUP policy did not lead to a reduction in alcohol purchases among the highest-purchasing and lowest-income households in both Wales and Scotland.
COVID-19 or MUP?
Furthermore, the MUP policy may be one reason for the 23% decline in hospital admissions due to alcohol in the 2020/21 fiscal year, compared to 2019/20. Since overall emergency hospital admissions also decreased by 13.2% during this time researchers conclude that there is possibly more than one reason for this reduction.
Meanwhile, alcohol-specific deaths in Wales increased by 17.8% in Wales from 2019 to 2020. Alcohol-specific deaths increased in Scotland during the same period as well. This was mostly during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The COVID-19 pandemic saw a polarization of alcohol use in the UK, where the heaviest users increased their alcohol consumption while others reduced alcohol or went alcohol-free. The increase in alcohol use by people who use alcohol heavily, coupled with the lack or inaccessibility of support services was likely a major reason for the rising alcohol-specific deaths in the UK.
Alcohol-specific deaths are mostly caused by diseases developed over many years such as alcoholic liver disease. Therefore, it is too soon to evaluate the effects of the MUP policy implemented in 2020 in Wales on alcohol-specific deaths in the same year.
Other effects of MUP in Wales
Reports by the Welsh government have found that substance switching among those who use alcohol heavily was unlikely. This corroborates with evidence from Scotland, where very few alcohol users reported switching to other illegal drugs.
The same Lancet study cited above found that the MUP policy did not lead to a reduction in alcohol purchases among the highest-purchasing and lowest-income households in both Wales and Scotland.
This could be because the current MUP level of 50 pence is not enough since it has been eroded by inflation. This is why communities in Scotland are calling for an increase in the MUP level to 65 pence to match inflation. A similar increase would also lead to improved public health gains for Wales.