Alcohol and society

Sir, – This week marks the one-year anniversary of the introduction of minimum unit pricing for alcohol in Ireland. The measure aims to reduce the sale of very strong alcohol products at very low prices and is one part of many measures introduced through the Public Health Alcohol Act 2018.

While research has yet to reveal the impact of minimum unit pricing on the sale and consumption of alcohol in Ireland, Drinkaware highlights that public demand for information, education and awareness regarding alcohol soared in 2022.

While legislative progress has been achieved through the Public Health Alcohol Act of 2018, with notable changes such as barriers in retail outlets and a prohibition of alcohol sponsorship at children’s events, there are still elements of the Act to be enacted, including the labelling of health warnings on alcohol products and the broadcast watershed.

Drinkaware supports evidence-based measures that can contribute to achieving their charitable purpose to prevent and reduce alcohol misuse, including the Public Health (Alcohol) Act 2018. This support is reiterated through the Read the Label campaign which the charity launched prior to the festive season, in addition to the new “standard drink” calculator tool, which enables the public to determine the exact number of standard drinks in a product based on percentage alcohol by volume and millilitres. However, it is evident through the demand from the public for information on alcohol that more education and awareness work is needed. – Yours, etc,