UK Health Professionals Call for Minimum Unit Pricing of Alcohol in England
Senior health professionals are calling for Westminster to introduce minimum unit pricing of alcohol and clampdown on drinks advertising in England.
They claim that within the next five years up to 63,000 people across the country will die as a result of liver problems linked to heavy alcohol consumption.
Liver disease claims around 12,000 lives a year in England. This number has risen by 400% since 1970.
In 2012, a ruling appeared to have paved the way for the introduction of minimum unit pricing in Scotland. This has since become the subject of an ongoing legal battle between the government and the drinks industry, however.
Nonetheless, Wales seems now to be following the Scottish example. Northern Ireland, too, may soon do the same.
In contrast, health ministers in England are less receptive to the idea.