Summary: <br> Freda Wallace is the cohost of the <a href="https://gendernebulous.co.uk/" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="external noopener noreferrer">Gender Nebulous</a> podcast.<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> *****<br> <br> <br> <br> I want to comment on a rant that was previously posted on this podcast. The rant in question was posted with episode 120 Levelling the Field and the topic was Minimum Unit Pricing for Alcohol or MUP. MUP, long-time listeners may recall, prohibits the selling of an alcoholic beverage below a price determined by the alcohol content of the beverage.<br> <br> <br> <br> To recap, by my reading, William made three arguments. First, that the MUP policy is motivated by a desire to advantage pubs over off license competitors. Second, that demand for alcohol is inelastic and therefore this measure is unlikely to be an effective measure for reducing alcohol consumption. Third, and relatedly, that higher prices may paradoxically lead to increased consumption. Therefore, it was concluded that MUP should not be perceived as a public health measure. Supporting evidence is presented by pointing out that page 26 of the 2011 Fine Gael General election manifesto says that below cost alcohol sales will be banned to support the viability of pubs. Further, it was noted that Ireland has both high alcohol consumption and high alcohol prices so the correlation is not there to support price increases as a preventative measure. Finally, marketing strategies from other industries, like the diamond trade, were identified as positive examples of an industry conspiring to increase the price to increase the importance of the product.<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> Firstly, I think we shouldn’t dismiss MUP as a public health measure without presenting what public health professionals think of it. There is <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953621004482" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener external" data-wpel-link="external">peer reviewed academic literature</a> which describes how an advocacy coalition called Alcohol Health Alliance Ireland was formed by the public health community specifically to secure the enactment of the 2015 Public Health (Alcohol) bill which contains MUP alongside other provisions. The bill was informed by an alcohol steering group, co-chaired by Tony Holohan, that recommended restrictions on price and other measures based on the international best evidence. By the way, the coalition was opposed by an industry group and Diageo are alleged to have threatened to reduce operations in Ireland over the policy. This is one reason why I am not worried that this measure serves the interests of the pub lobby or is part of a scheme to increase the sales of alcohol.<br> <br> <br> <br> It also needs to be said that a ban on below cost sales would mean that retailers are not allowed to sell an alcohol product at a price that is less than the cost of its manufacture. Retailers sometimes do this for strategic reasons, to undercut and drive out competitors. The policy that was proposed in the 2011 Fine Gael manifesto is different to the MUP measure that was introduced in the bill that became the 2018 Public Health (Alcohol) Act.<br> <br> <br> <br> Another reason is that all available evidence suggests that the policy will be effective. The World Health Organisation’s draft <a href="https://www.who.int/teams/mental-health-and-substance-use/alcohol-drugs-and-addictive-behaviours/alcohol/our-activities/towards-and-action-plan-on-alcohol" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="external noopener noreferrer">Global alcohol action plan</a> endorses pricing policies to control consumption and <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(23)00497-X/fulltext" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener external" data-wpel-link="external">a brand new study</a> in the Lancet has found that Scotland’s MUP policies are associated with reductions in deaths and hospitalisation. Scotland’s lessons, by the way, are the most relevant for what is possible in changing Ireland’s drinking culture.
