The Tory MP also called for action against the drinks industry claiming there is a “clear conflict of interest” in having the drinks industry controlling education on alcohol.
She also called for a reduction in the drink-drive limit from 80mg to 50mg and increased powers for police to conduct breath tests.
“If a jumbo jet fully laden with passengers crashed over Britain every fortnight, drastic action would be taken, and that is what we are talking about—22,000 people die every year in Britain as a result of alcohol,” Wollaston said.
“Suffice to say that without action on pricing, I am afraid that nothing else will be as effective as it could be. Alcohol is no ordinary commodity and we should not treat it just through market forces.”
But Shipley MP Philip Davies, a fellow Tory, said: “The process of setting a minimum price is predicated on the assumption that raising the price of alcohol will make those who misuse alcohol behave differently.
He added: “People who think that minimum pricing will stop young people going into town centres on Friday and Saturday nights with the intention of getting bladdered, or whatever the current term is, are living in cloud cuckoo land.”
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