Minimum Unit Pricing (of alcohol) – now is the time!
At last – a lead article on the front page of an influential national broadsheet newspaper, denouncing the government’s record on reducing liver disease deaths and advocating the immediate introduction of Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP) for alcoholic drinks. The Lancet Commission on Liver Disease in the UK, in conjunction with many other institutions and charities involved in liver and alcohol research, have produced new data showing that over five years, more than 63000 people will die and more than £16bn of NHS money will be spent on alcohol-related liver disease. MUP is a carefully targeted measure that only affects those that drink alcoholic drinks that are designed to be cheap but alcohol rich, especially the very strong lagers and ciders. It will have no effect on the average pub beer drinker or home wine drinker. Read the Guardian article on the link, and lobby locally and nationally in favour of MUP. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/jul/24/heavy-drinking-will-kill-63000-people-over-next-five-years-doctors-warn