High strength alcohol is now cheaper than a barista coffee and psychiatrists are demanding urgent action on pricing to save lives
Psychiatrists in Northern Ireland are calling for an immediate action on a policy which could save hundreds of lives, after research revealed it is now cheaper to buy high-strength alcohol than a barista coffee.
Currently, a large barista coffee costs more than £4.00, while a two-litre bottle of high-strength cider can be purchased for under £3.00.
Senior addiction psychiatrists are now calling on Stormont to introduce Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP) without further delay – after its proven success in other parts of the UK, including Scotland, where alcohol deaths have fallen this year to the lowest number since 2019.
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Paul Wilson, 54, lives in Belfast. He started drinking when he was 13 and was diagnosed with alcohol dependency in his teens. He has lived on the street and in hostels across the UK and now resides independently in his own flat with support from Threshold – a local charity delivering mental health and disability services across NI. Paul now helps others with his lived experience – doing a range of talks on addictions.
He said: “I ended up on the streets after losing jobs and relationships. I was homeless on the streets in London, Liverpool, Norwich and stayed at every hostel in Belfast because of my addiction.
“After a trip to hospital I ended up getting diagnosed with Alcohol Related Brain Injury – it was then it really kicked in, and I started the long road to recovery.
“After losing jobs I was in a bad financial position, but I also had to deal with having an addiction. I had no choice but to purchase the high strength cheap alcohol, which I believe is why I became so unwell, so quickly.
“I would fully support the MUP as I know what it’s like to be dependent on cheap high-strength alcohol. It also might stop young people from drinking so much as won’t be as cheap.
“With the MUP going so well in Scotland you would think politicians here would want to bring it in. It would have certainly helped me.”
Meanwhile, alcohol-related deaths are highest in NI’s most deprived areas, with this population purchasing high-volume alcohol the most.
Data from the Department of Health shows deaths in these areas to be more than four and a half times higher while alcohol-related admissions to hospitals in the most deprived areas, are over three times higher.
MUP specifically targets heavy alcohol use rather than moderate drinking by increasing the price of the cheapest, strongest drinks most associated with harm.
Evidence from Scotland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland shows that the policy reduces alcohol-related deaths, lowers hospital admissions and helps tackle health inequalities, without financial loss to licensed premises such as pubs and restaurants.
But while some members of the Northern Ireland Executive support implementing MUP, others disagree. RCPsych NI is now calling for all politicians to get round the table and work together as a matter of urgency, to make MUP a reality.
Dr Joy Watson, chair of the Addictions Faculty, Royal College of Psychiatrists NI said: “When people are addicted to alcohol, they are likely to reach for cheaper options because of their desperation, but this leads to a very slippery slope in terms of their liver and their brain – as well as other health consequences.
“It’s completely shocking that high-strength alcohol is cheaper than buying a coffee. This shouldn’t be allowed to continue – when other countries have proven the health outcomes of stopping this.
“We seem to be way behind when it comes to adopting a sensible policy to cut alcohol-related harm in Northern Ireland and it’s about time we kept up pace.
“The government need to listen to medical experts as minimum unit pricing could save lives and cut NHS costs. There is no hidden agenda – only public health gain.
“Working on the frontline in addictions psychiatry, I see the harm cheap high-strength alcohol does to people’s lives and their loved ones. MUP has been proven to work elsewhere and it’s time to implement the policy in NI for the sake of everyone’s health.”
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