Portman hits out at Welsh alcohol plans

Drinks watchdog the Portman Group has slammed the Welsh Assembly's plan to increase tax on alcohol and place more controls on its promotion.

The Welsh Assembly unveiled its 10-year alcohol strategy, Working Together to Reduce Harm, yesterday for consultation. It says the assembly will "press for stricter rules on the promotion of alcohol, an increase in taxation and a reduction in the drink-drive limit".

The authorities have come under increasing pressure to introduce a hike in alcohol tax since the formation of the Alcohol Health Alliance late last year.

However, Portman Group chief executive David Poley

hit back at the assembly's

plan, saying: "The Govern-ment has commissioned an independent review of the industry's standards of social responsibility.

"We are determined to demonstrate that the activities of drinks producers are already strictly controlled.

"Raising tax to cut levels of misuse would be ineffective. Drinks producers are ploughing millions of pounds into the Drinkaware Trust's campaigning work.

"Education can change the culture just as it did with drink-driving."

The strategy will be backed by an extra £9.6m in the Substance Misuse Action Fund over the next three years, taking the total amount of funding to more than £27m per year by 2010-11.

The proposals in the strategy address five key areas - prevention, supporting substance misusers, supporting families, and, tackling availability and protecting individuals and communities.

Chief Medical Officer for Wales, Dr Tony Jewell, added: "There is growing evidence that young people in Wales are starting to drink at an early age and regularly binge drink - with consequent risk of injury, road-traffic crashes, unsafe sex and antisocial behaviour, so this new 10-year strategy will help tackle the culture of binge drinking and other substance misuse extending into adulthood."