27 June 2017: Responding to the announcement that the Welsh government is set to legislate for a minimum price for alcohol, Professor Sir Ian Gilmore, chair of the Alcohol Health Alliance UK (AHA), said:
“We welcome the Welsh government’s announcement today that it will introduce legislation to set a minimum price for alcohol.
“The cheaper alcohol is, the more alcohol-related harm is done, and at present there is a proliferation of cheap alcohol across the UK. Raising the price of the cheapest alcohol by setting a price below which it cannot be sold will save lives, reduce hospital admissions and cut crime.
“With Scotland also set to introduce minimum unit pricing, it is vital that the UK government now legislates for minimum unit pricing for England too, something it committed to doing five years ago but failed to follow through. With lives being lost as a direct result of freely available cheap alcohol, a decision to delay further will be in effect a death sentence for some of the most vulnerable in society.”