UK doctors back calls for minimum price of alcohol

Doctors at the BMA’s annual conference in Liverpool also backed calls to introduce a minimum price for a unit of alcohol.

Proposing a motion which included calls for clearer labelling and a total ban on alcohol advertising, Dr Chandra Mohan from Barking, Havering and Brentwood, said:

“People drink alcohol in different patterns and for different reasons, so a multi-directional approach is needed to address these problems. We need clearer labelling of alcoholic products indicating alcohol content and unit value. We need to call on our Government to stop making excuses, to follow the plans of their Scottish colleagues and introduce a minimum price for a unit of alcohol.”

Dr Peter Terry, Chairman of the BMA in Scotland, said he welcomed his “UK colleagues’ support for the approach being taken in Scotland to tackle the serious and signifi cant social and health costs of alcohol. Doctors witness the devastation of alcohol on patients and the crippling effect it is having on the NHS. With this ringing endorsement from the medical profession, I hope that politicians of all parties can back the Scottish Government’s alcohol strategy and support legislation on alcohol pricing.”

Dr Mohan quoted research published in a recent issue of the Lancet which stated that setting a minimum price of 50 pence per unit would increase moderate drinkers’ average weekly spend on alcohol by only 23 pence per week, but would decrease consumption by underage and heavy drinkers by 7.3% and 10.3% respectively.

The motion debated read: That this meeting deplores the increasing burden of alcohol-related diseases and complications on our nation’s health. We: i) support the introduction of a minimum price for a unit of alcohol; ii) believe that a minimum pricing strategy would not unduly disadvantage responsible alcohol consumers; iii) call for all alcoholic beverages to have clearer labelling indicating alcoholic content and unit value; iv) call on the BMA to lobby government for a total ban on alcohol advertising in the media; v) demand that revenue obtained from increased prices should be used for the prevention of alcohol misuse and the rehabilitation of alcohol abusers.