The first study to investigate the potential impact of minimum unit pricing for alcohol at a population level has found that it will affect just 14% of drinkers.

Minimum unit pricing is one of the measures contained in the Public Health (Alcohol) Bill 2015. If passed, the price will be set at 10c per gram of alcohol. This means, for example, a 750ml bottle of wine with an ABV (alcohol by volume) of 12.5% could not be sold for less than €7.50.

The aim of this measure is to stop the sale of very cheap alcohol, thereby reducing alcohol-attributable harm.

The study looked at 3,187 people aged between 18 and 75 years, all of whom had consumed alcohol in the week prior to being interviewed.

It found that just 14% of drinkers purchase alcohol below the minimum unit pricing. Furthermore, the cheapest alcohol products are favoured by the heaviest drinkers, irrespective of their income.

"Some opponents of minimum unit pricing are concerned that consumers using alcohol in a low-risk manner will be punished with higher prices. Our findings do not support these concerns, as unlike tax or excise measures, the introduction of a minimum unit price would affect less than 14% of the population.

"More importantly, from a population health perspective, we have shown that a minimum unit price of €1 per standard drink will primarily target high-risk drinkers," commented lead researcher, Dr Grainne Cousins, of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI).

She noted that people on lower incomes already suffer a ‘disproportionate burden of alcohol-related harm'. However, these findings suggest that the health benefits of introducing minimum unit pricing ‘will be greatest among those on lower incomes, in terms of reductions in alcohol consumption and harm'.

"Our study also suggests that men will experience greater health benefits from the introduction of a minimum unit price, which again supports this policy as a targeted strategy, as men are disproportionately affected by alcohol-attributable harms," Dr Cousins said.

Almost two-thirds of participants in the study reported high-risk drinking, with men more likely to report this type of behaviour than women.

"High-risk drinkers, men and those on low income were most likely to report buying the cheapest alcohol. As a result, the introduction of minimum unit pricing in Ireland is likely to target those suffering the greatest harm, and reduce alcohol-attributable mortality in Ireland," Dr Cousins concluded.

The study found that almost 70% of low-cost alcohol products were bought in supermarkets.

In 2013, three alcohol-related deaths occurred every single day and in 2012, the State spent an estimated €1.5 billion on alcohol-related hospital discharges. That equates to €1 for every €10 spent on public health that year and does not take into account the additional costs of things like alcohol-related emergency care and psychiatric care.

The study was led by the RCSI and the Health Research Board and is published in the journal, Alcohol and Alcoholism.