BBPA slams calls for alcohol tax hike

The British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) has hit out at health groups' calls for a 10 per cent tax hike on alcohol to tackle drink-related problems.

The Alcohol Health Alliance coalition, made up of 21 health and temperance groups and headed by the Royal College of Physicians, wants alcohol taxation increased as well as more government regulation of the drinks industry.

The alliance, expected to officially launch next month, also wants to see health warnings placed on alcohol adverts and promotions to help curb binge-drinking.

But Mark Hastings, director of communications at the BBPA, said tax increases had already been proven not to work.

"While this group of doctors may know a lot about medicine they know nothing about markets and how they operate," he said.

"If higher taxes were the answer then Britain as the highest taxed nation in Europe wouldn't have any problems with alcohol misuse.

"You see across Europe those countries with higher taxes and higher prices [on alcohol] have more problems than those with lower taxes."

Hastings argued that those misusing alcohol needed an individual, tailored approach to help them tackle the problem.

And he pointed to the recent report that 'safe' alcohol consumption levels - used as the basis of many reports into alcohol harm - weren't produced using reliable research.

However Sarah Matthews, a spokeswoman from the British Liver Trust, argued that the research around increasing levels of disease caused by alcohol was "pretty accurate".

She added: "More people are consuming more alcohol. I think that's pretty obvious and that's what the alliance will be looking at - what's caused this problem and price is a big issue."

Matthews argued that while "supermarkets are quite a big problem" she said that "the whole culture within pubs of buying two glasses of wine and getting the bottle free" also needed to be addressed.

Figures released earlier this month revealed that alcohol consumption had fallen 5.3 per cent over the last two years and are now the lowest for five years.