Alcohol deaths: Could a minimum unit price policy for alcohol be introduced to the rest of the UK?
The rise in alcohol linked deaths comes as health experts welcomed an increase to the Scottish minimum unit price policy for alcohol - could England and Wales follow suit?
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00:00 "What we do know is that here in the UK, alcohol takes a centre stage in our society.
00:05 It's all around us, it's everywhere we go.
00:08 You see it on TV, you see it on billboards, you see it on greeting cards, you see it literally
00:13 everywhere.
00:14 So it's kind of our default position for, you know, if we've had a good day, if we've
00:18 had a bad day, we're going to a wedding, we're going to a funeral.
00:22 We tend to have that default of reverting to drink.
00:26 So shifting that culture will take time."
00:29 When asked about their drinking habits, around one in five Britons who drink alcohol say
00:34 they are now drinking more than before the coronavirus pandemic began in March 2020,
00:39 according to a YouGov poll.
00:40 "Behind every number there's a family that's had to deal with the devastation of losing
00:44 a loved one to what is actually an avoidable cause.
00:48 We saw a sharp rise in alcohol deaths during the pandemic and unfortunately what the stats
00:54 that were released this week show is that this has continued to rise.
00:58 We're unfortunately not surprised to see that these shocking numbers have come out this
01:03 week."
01:04 Sheffield University researchers found a minimum alcohol unit price of 45p would help reduce
01:09 alcohol consumption, but the drinks industry has concerns it would disproportionately affect
01:14 reasonable drinkers.
01:16 Charities like Alcohol Change UK support its introduction to the rest of the country.
01:20 "At the moment I think it's a decision that will probably lie with the next government
01:25 and it's one of our key calls for whoever forms the next government in Westminster.
01:30 We're trying to talk to politicians on all sides to talk to them about the evidence and
01:35 the importance of introducing minimum unit pricing as part of the comprehensive alcohol
01:41 strategy to help reduce these deaths and also the kind of wider harm that's seen from alcohol.
01:49 Taking it seriously, definitely we'd like to see minimum unit pricing as part of the
01:53 package of measures to help reduce these shocking numbers and bring down overall alcohol harm."