Northern Ireland publicans today threw their support behind a call for the introduction of minimum pricing for a unit of alcohol.
The call, made by Britain’s chief medical officer Sir Liam Donaldson, has not found favour in Downing Street.
But the Federation of the Retail Licensed Trade (FRLT) said they supported the proposal as a means of tackling the irresponsible sale and consumption of alcohol.
The 50p a unit recommendation came after the Scottish government announced it is to introduce minimum pricing.
The FRLT, which represents over 70 per cent of Northern Ireland licensees, has called on the Stormont Executive to follow suit.
Federation chief executive Colin Neill said: “Alcohol is no ordinary commodity and should not be treated as such, the irresponsible sale and consumption of alcohol products can create major health and social problems.
“We have called on the Executive to consider introducing minimum pricing in Northern Ireland in order to help tackle the issue of binge drinking.”
Mr Neill said it was an unfortunate reality that in many supermarket chains a can of lager cost less than a can of lemonade and bottles of cider less that a bottle of water. “This needs to stop as a matter of urgency,” he said.
The federation had been working closely with its colleagues in the rest of the UK and in Ireland and would continue to assess the impact of Scottish legislation, said Mr Neill.
“Northern Ireland has higher levels of alcohol abuse than other parts of the UK, including England, so it will be important to assess the success of the Scottish model in tackling this problem,” he added.
PA