Alcohol Concern pleads for minimum price

Alcohol Concern has once again pleaded for the introduction of a minimum price of 50p a unit on alcohol.

As it kicked off its Alcohol Awareness Week, the charity warned that nearly 100,000 people could die over the next 10 years from alcohol abuse.

Research from the Alcohol & Health Research Unit at the University of the West of England and Alcohol Concern said there had been a trebling of deaths from 3,054 in 1984 to 8,999 in 2008.

The numbers include diseases directly caused by alcohol and alcohol poisoning, and do not include deaths caused indirectly by alcohol, such as those from drink-driving or cancers which have been caused in part by drinking.

However, the figures are in contrast to yesterday's claim by the British Beer and Pub Association that alcohol consumption is actually falling at its fastest rate for more than 60 years.

"The UK has been experiencing an epidemic of alcohol-related health and social problems that is remarkable by international standards," said author of the work Professor Martin Plant.

"It is strongly recommended that reducing mortality should be the top priority for alcohol control policy.

"This could be done by introducing a minimum unit price of 50p which would cut alcohol-related hospital admissions, crimes and absence days from work."

Alcohol Concern chief executive Don Shenker said: "This is an unacceptably high death toll and the worst part is that all of these deaths are avoidable.

"Whilst there has been a small reduction in consumption and mortality over the last two years, the overall trend is a rise in consumption and a trebling of deaths since 1984.

"This rise runs in parallel with the growing affordability of alcohol. Without policies which more effectively target the cheap price of alcohol we will not get to grips with what has become one of the country's biggest public health problems.