Research: banning cheap alcohol will reduce crime and NHS bills

A ban on supermarket and off-licence discount promotions would cut crime by 14,000 offences a year, including 4,000 violent incidents, and reduce absenteeism from work. according to government-funded research from Sheffield University.

The research was commissioned by the Department for Health and looked at 40 separate alcohol policy options, including setting minimum prices per unit. It showed that reducing the quantity of cut-price alcohol on sale can reduce consumption and have significant effects on reducing related crime and ill-health.

The researchers estimated  that a 40p per unit minimum price could reduce hospital admissions by 41,000 a year and save the NHS £116m a year in treatment costs. This minimum price level would also reduce crime by 16,000 offences a year.

The report also looked at the impact of  a ban on cut-price alcohol promotions in supermarkets and off-licences, and suggested that wine drinkers would be hit hardest by such proposals. It said that a ban on discounts of more than 30%,  while effecting wine consumption most, would have little effect on cheaper alcohol, such as lager and beers, selling for less than 30p a unit.

Targeting price increases at cheaper types of alcohol, particularly in bars and pubs where at-risk groups such as younger people do most of their drinking, would have an impact without unduly penalising moderate drinkers.

Read the full feature from The Guardian here