'Passive drinking crusade' starts here

A top doctor has likened the health lobby's new 'war on alcohol' to the crusade against tobacco which resulted in the smoking ban.

But Professor Ian Gilmore, president of the Royal College of Physicians, admitted the fight for action on booze would be a more difficult proposition than getting smoking banned.

During a conference on alcohol harm, Gilmore said: "It's not as straightforward as the smoking issue. Smoking being bad for you was not even a discussion, alcohol is more complex.

"It's not easy. We know we are up against probably the most powerful lobby there is - the drinks industry."

Leeds health chief Tony Goodall, a delegate at the conference - Reducing the harm caused by alcohol: a co-ordinated European response - noted that the health lobby had a "magic bullet" on tobacco reform in the form of the passive smoking argument.

He questioned whether a similar argument could be put forward over "passive drinking" - or the knock-on social effects of booze.

Gilmore is chairman of the Alcohol Health Alliance (AHA), a group of 24 health and temperance bodies which launched last week. Among AHA's proposals to combat alcohol-related problems is a 10 per cent increase on alcohol tax.

Last week's developments highlight the full extent of the battle the trade faces against increased regulations over the sale of alcohol. Industry chiefs have hit back at the proposals, responding that the UK is already heavily taxed. John McNamara, BII chief executive, said: "The UK is already the second-highest taxed country in the European Union on alcohol.

"We have to look at a cultural change in the UK - not banging up taxes and making alcohol harder to obtain."

Despite this, Robert Madelin, the EC's director-general for health and consumer protection, claimed the public wanted action on alcohol. "We think we have evidence that citizens want something to be done," he said. "We have a problem making it clear that the man and woman in the street really want action."

What is the Alcohol Health Alliance campaigning for? ​​

• Dedicated funding for alcohol treatment

• Increased taxation on alcohol

• A ban on alcohol advertising before 9pm and in cinemas apart from 18-rated films

• Promotional material to carry information on health-related harm

• The drink-driving limit to be reduced to the EU standard of 0.5g/l and a near-zero limit for new drivers