NICE backs new calls for minimum alcohol pricing

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has backed a report suggesting that minimum alcohol pricing will help protect young people.

Analysis from Alcohol Concern and Balance states that cheap alcohol encourages young people to drink to excess, thus making them more susceptible to negative health consequences.

Almost two-thirds of the 16 to 24-year-olds polled agreed that cheap alcohol promotions encourage drinking to get drunk, while buy-one-get-one-free deals also persuade many to purchase more alcohol than they otherwise would.

This supports NICE's ongoing stance that making alcohol less affordable is the most effective way of reducing alcohol-related harm.

Professor Mike Kelly, director of the Public Health Excellence Centre at NICE, said: "We know that the younger drinkers are more likely to seek cheapest forms of alcohol. Minimum pricing is an effective way to prevent this and to reduce excess consumption among younger people."

NICE also believes that the government should assess the benefits of implementing more stringent regulations on alcohol advertising, including a potential ban on these forms of marketing.