UK Gov labelled ‘deplorable’ in MUP row

The UK Government has come under fire after it was revealed ministers met with drinks industry members before performing a U-turn on its minimum unit pricing (MUP) policy.

UK Government ministers and officials have been criticised by the BMJ for “burying” MUP information

Doctors have criticised ministers and government officials for meeting with drinks industry representatives and bosses at leading supermarkets before dramatically backtracking on the policy last year.

The claim was made by the British Medical Journal (BMJ), which discovered 130 meetings had taken place since May 2010, some at after official consultation had closed.

Health experts with the BMJ claimed that at the same time as some of these meetings were taking place, the Government endeavoured to “bury” key evidence listing the benefits of MUP.

MUP was first pledged in parliament by David Cameron in March 2012, but the policy was binned in July 2013 over claims that it “lacked concrete evidence” of effectively reducing harms and “penalised those who drank responsibly”.

The initial policy suggested a 40p minimum price would save 900 lives a year and prevent 50,000 crimes.

“Burying” evidence

A draft report outlining the virtues of MUP produced by the University of Sheffield was reportedly in the Government’s possession for five months but was not made public until after the announcement of the policy backtrack.

The paper claimed that MUP would reduce alcohol consumption and harms with only a small impact on moderate drinkers.

John Holmes, public health research fellow at Sheffield University, told the BMJ that this research was submitted to ministers in February 2013.

According to The Independent an additional report which suggested the Government’s preferred policy would be ineffective was also delayed until after the announcement.

This paper claimed that the Government’s preference to ban sales of alcohol at costs cheaper than the tax payable on the product was 40 to 50 times less effective than MUP.

Holmes added that the university had agreed to the Government’s request that it did not release its appraisals ahead of any Government announcement.

“Deplorable” practices

In an open letter, 22 health experts accuse the Government of “deplorable practices” in allowing their policies to be affected by the interests of big businesses.

Sir Ian Gilmore, special adviser on alcohol at the Royal College of Physicians implored the government to “stop dancing to the tune of the drinks industry and prioritise the health of the public”.

The Department of Health released a statement claiming it “utterly rejects” any allegation of wrong-doing in meetings with industry members and that it had “a similar number or more meetings” with health charities and campaigners.

A spokesperson for the department said: “This Government is determined to tackle alcohol abuse in any way we can and minimum unit pricing is still under consideration.

“But to insinuate routine meetings between departmental officials and industry representatives amounted to an improper relationship with the drinks industry is ludicrous and completely unfounded.”