Lobby group aims to increase alcohol tax
BBPA boss says industry will oppose campaign vigorously
A powerful lobby group is being set up with the aim of increasing tax on alcohol by 10% - and to combat the power of the drinks lobby.
The Alcohol Health Alliance will be headed by the Royal College of Physicians and include 21 other groups including Alcohol Concern, the British Liver Trust and the Health Research Trust.
Reports suggest its main aim will be to lobby MPs for an increase in alcohol tax, although talks are at an early stage. The organisation is also expected to push for warning labels, self-regulation and greater restrictions or even a blanket ban on alcohol advertising.
In an exclusive interview, Alcohol Concern chief executive Srabeni Sen told the MA: "It's basically a collection of organisations that have a shared objective to reduce the amount of harm alcohol causes people's health, and society as a whole. We will look at how we can work to achieve common objectives."
The Alcohol Health Alliance will officially launch in November and define its agenda more clearly.
The Royal College of Physicians (RCP), the lead organisation, is openly in favour of a rise in alcohol taxation. RCP president Prof Ian Gilmore said: "Research from across the world shows a direct link between affordability of alcohol and level of consumption.
"Raising tax on alcohol would help reduce consumption and reduce the future bur-
den of ill-health from alcohol misuse, while generating more funding for treatment services. This means a win-
win for the nation's health."
Sen added: "Alcohol Con-cern as an individual organisation is certainly pushing for a rise in alcohol tax because we believe there is a significant body of evidence showing that price is a key way in which you can reduce overall levels of alcohol harm."
British Beer & Pub Associa-tion director of communications Mark Hastings said: "It proves that while doctors know a lot about medicine, they know nothing about markets and how they operate.
"No remedy they propose would have any effect on excess drinking in the UK.
"This is a campaign our industry is going to have to counter vigorously. The industry will continue to present robustly its long- standing arguments around tackling alcohol misuse, based on actual evidence."
Trade leaders have previously expressed concern that higher alcohol tax would drive people from pubs to supermarkets where prices are so much lower.
