Minimum unit pricing (MUP) was introduced by the Welsh Government in 2020, based on evidence from around the world that the price of alcohol has a big influence on how much people drink and how much harm alcohol causes.
MUP sets a baseline price below which a single unit of alcohol cannot be sold. And because it relates directly to the number of alcohol units in a product, it targets the cheapest, strongest drinks. MUP in Wales was originally set at 50p per unit; on 1 October 2026 it increases to 65p per unit.
So, let’s look at what this new MUP does to the prices of some common alcoholic drinks; and what else, alongside MUP, we need to be doing to reduce alcohol harm.
Here are a few everyday examples of what the 65p MUP will mean:
- A standard-strength pint of beer or cider contains around 2.5 units of alcohol. In 2020, it couldn’t be sold for less than £1.25 (2.5 x 50p). From October 2026, it can’t be sold for less than £1.63 (2.5 x 65p).
- An average bottle of wine has about 10 units of alcohol in it. So, the minimum price for it in 2020 was £5 (10 x 50p). That’s going up to £6.50 (10 x 65p).
- A standard-size bottle of spirits contains around 26 units. In 2020 it couldn’t be sold for less than £13 (26 x 50p). Its new minimum price will be £16.90 (26 x 65p).
The hospitality sector has been struggling in recent years. The good news is that MUP has no negative impacts on pubs, restaurants and hotels – for the simple reason that drinks in venues like these are already well above the MUP threshold. The 65p MUP means that the lowest possible price of a pint in Wales will be £1.63, and a large glass of wine won’t cost less than £2.15. If you’ve been to the pub anytime in the last 20 years, you are very unlikely to have found drinks cheaper than that.
There have been suggestions that MUP will encourage more people to go to pubs and bars instead of buying alcohol from a supermarket and drinking it at home. That’s difficult to prove but recent research by the Institute of Alcohol Studies has found strong support amongst publicans for minimum pricing.
There have long been concerns that big bottles of super-strength cider cause serious harm to some of the most vulnerable alcohol-dependent people. Without a doubt, the biggest impact of MUP has been the removal of these products from shops in Wales. Before MUP, three-litre bottles of 7.5% cider were on sale for as little as £3.99. The 50p MUP pushed their price up to £11.25, and the 65p MUP increases it to £14.63. These are prices that no one is willing to pay, and so big bottles of strong cider have simply disappeared from the shops. Some super-strength ciders are still available in half-litre cans, but MUP has also pushed up the price of these, and they’ve often been replaced on the shelves by other ciders at 4% to 5%. That might not sound like much of a change, but it’s making a real difference in reducing harm.
The minimum price doesn’t ban supermarkets from offering multiple purchase discounts – where alcoholic drinks get cheaper the more you buy. But it does make it much more difficult because retailers must make sure that discounts don’t take the price of any product below the MUP threshold. So, with MUP at 65p, you can expect to see fewer bulk discounts on alcohol in your local supermarket.
Controlling the price of alcohol is one way to reduce harm. But we know that MUP on its own won’t solve everything. As well as addressing cheap, strong, harmful alcohol, we need to make treatment and support easier to access. That’s why we are working through initiatives like our Blue Light Approach to get more people into treatment. And it’s why we’re striving, through our policy and campaigning work with others, to make sure help is available to more people, when and where it’s needed.
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