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Minimum unit pricing will ‘not be taken forward at
this moment’, the government has announced in a
statement on the outcome of its alcohol strategy
consultation. There will also be no ban on multi-buy
promotions.
There was not enough ‘concrete evidence’ that
minimum pricing would help reduce alcohol harm without
penalising responsible drinkers, crime prevention minister
Jeremy Browne told MPs. However alcohol sales below
the level of alcohol duty plus VAT would be banned from
next spring, meaning it would no longer be legal to sell a
can of lager ‘for less than about 40 pence’.
There was also ‘a lack of convincing evidence’ that a
ban on multi-buy promotions would have a significant
effect on reducing consumption, he said, adding that its
introduction would be unreasonable ‘at a time when
responsible families are trying hard to balance their
household budgets’.
The government would tackle irresponsible
promotions by making mandatory licensing conditions
more effective, he stated, and promote responsible
drinking by ‘raising customer awareness of the
availability of small servings’. It would also work with
‘high harm local alcohol action areas’ to improve
enforcement, strengthen partnerships and ‘increase good
practice of what works locally’.
The alcohol industry now had ‘an opportunity to
demonstrate what more it can do to reduce harms
associated with problem drinking’, he continued. ‘We
want fair and effective policies,’ he said. ‘We are not in
the business of making laws that do not work.’
The statement was instantly welcomed by industry
bodies. British Beer and Pub Association chief executive
Brigid Simmonds said that the decision not to ban multi-
buy promotions recognised ‘the lack of evidence that this
encourages over-consumption, rather than providing
value and convenience for shoppers’, while Portman
Group chief executive Henry Ashworth said that ‘through
a series of voluntary pledges aimed at improving public
health, the industry has proven itself to be committed
and willing partners and welcomes the opportunity to
continue this successful approach going forward.’
The industry’s win, however, was a ‘grave loss for the
public health of the nation’, said Alcohol Concern chief
executive Eric Appleby. ‘The alcohol industry must be
congratulating themselves on their success at lobbying
government to bin minimum unit pricing.’
Abandoning the plans amounted to a public health
‘catastrophe’, he said. ‘In the government’s own alcohol
strategy it committed to tackling alcohol misuse by
making tough decisions, including introducing minimum
unit pricing, a policy proven to cut crime and save lives.
Sadly, with this announcement, cheap alcohol will
continue to be sold at pocket money prices.’
The government’s decision also led to an
announcement by Cancer Research UK, the Faculty of
Public Health and the UK Health Forum that they were
pulling out of the government’s public health
responsibility deal alcohol network, along with network
co-chair Dr Nick Sheron, head of clinical hepatology at
the University of Southampton. ‘Talk of “punishing the
hard worker” who can afford few other pleasures than a
pint of mild is a red herring,’ said a joint statement. ‘It is
our most deprived communities who pay the highest
price for cheap alcohol through the consequences of
street crime, violence and younger people developing
alcohol-related health problems.’
Organisations including Alcohol Concern, the British
Medical Association, the Royal College of Physicians and
the British Liver Trust refused to sign up to the
controversial deal in 2011 (
DDN
, April 2011, page 4),
accusing the government of allowing the drinks industry
to dictate health policy.
See news focus, page 6
NOT FOILED AGAIN
The government has accepted the
ACMD’s advice to allow for the provision
of foil by treatment providers ‘subject to
the strict condition that it is part of
structured efforts to get people into
treatment and off drugs’, home secretary
Theresa May has announced. The
government would also introduce
mechanisms to monitor take-up and
adherence to conditions, she said. ‘The
provision of foil in needle exchange and
drug treatment services can contribute to
a reduction in drug injecting and
associated health risks, such as
exposure to blood born viruses, vein
collapse and overdose,’ said DrugScope
chief executive Martin Barnes. ‘Support
that enables heroin and other drug users
to reduce the risks to themselves and
others can be the catalyst for engaging
with treatment and support for recovery.’
HEP C HELP
A free, confidential helpline for prisoners
has been launched by the Hepatitis C
Trust. The helpline, which will be open
five days a week on 0800 999 2052,
allows the trust to ‘reach out to a highly
affected population’, said head of patient
support services, Samantha May. ‘What
we offer is the facility for prisoners to
speak with their peers who can
empathise with the stigmatisation that
someone can face when they have the
virus,’ she said. ‘We can answer their
questions and tell it like it is.’ The trust
has also produced a new briefing for
London’s health and wellbeing boards
which urges local authorities to improve
commissioning, promote testing and
encourage training. Councils had an
‘unprecedented opportunity’, said trust
chief executive Charles Gore. ‘If we
diagnose and treat those infected, we
could virtually eradicate the virus within a
generation.’
Reducing health inequalities
in London by addressing hepatitis C at
www.hepctrust.org.uk
GET NETWORKING
A new website has been launched by the
Alcohol Health Network to help reduce
alcohol-related harm in workplaces and
the community. Founded by former
Alcohol Concern chief executive Don
Shenker, the network works with
companies and public health teams to
help drinkers understand and reduce
their drinking levels via online self-
assessment tools, training and advice.
www.alcoholhealthnetwork.org.uk
4 |
drinkanddrugsnews
| August 2013
www.drinkanddrugsnews.com
News |
Round-up
NEWS IN BRIEF
Minimum pricing ‘will
not be taken forward’
‘Not enough concrete
evidence that mini-
mum pricing would
help reduce alcohol
harm without
penalising respon-
sible drinkers.’
Jeremy Browne, MP