Higher prices can curb binge drinking, says NHS watchdog
Guidance issued by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) says that a minimum price per unit is the most effective way of tackling excessive drinking and its impact on the NHS and society.
NICE also advises a complete ban on alcohol advertising and calls for better screening for drink problems among the general population. Patients should be asked about their drinking habits when they register with a GP, and professionals such as police and community workers should raise the issue if it is contributing to behavioural or other problems.
Scenarios include people who have a condition that may be linked to drinking, or could be made worse by it, those who have suffered a minor injury and patients who are advised about medication or sexual health.
The recommendations, compiled by a panel of public health experts, will add to pressure on politicians, who have previously shied away from a national minimum price despite calls from the Chief Medical Officer and Parliament’s health committee. While the guidance does not recommend a specific minimum price, its authors assessed the impact of a 50p per unit, which they said would tackle excessive drinking across socioeconomic groups and be of greatest benefit to the most vulnerable.
Professor Mike Kelly, NICE’s public health director, said studies suggested that it would cut consumption among moderate drinkers by 3.8 per cent and by 10.3 per cent for those drinking at hazardous levels.
A bottle of wine would cost at least £4.50, a pint of 4 per cent alcohol beer £1.14 and a 10-pack about £10. A two-litre bottle of cider would cost a minimum of about £7.50.
Professor Kelly said it would “not penalise” pubs and bars but would tackle the “aggressive promotion of heavily discounted alcohol” in supermarkets.
One in four Britons regularly drinks at levels that are causing, or could cause, health and mental problems. The recommended safe level is 14 units a week for women and 21 for men.
The NICE guidance calls for the Government to consider a complete ban on alcohol advertising to protect high-risk groups, with young people’s exposure the most concerning. It said there was good evidence on the impact of advertising on children, although it was “less clear cut” regarding adults.
Other recommendations include reducing the amount people are allowed to bring into the country from abroad, and cutting the number of shops selling alcohol as well as their opening hours. Councils should look at how many shops are already selling alcohol in an area to check whether a place is “saturated” before granting new licences. They should also take into account the potential impact on crime rates, public disorder and alcohol-related deaths. Shops selling to those who are under-age or clearly drunk should face penalties or closure, the guidance adds.
Andrew Lansley, the Health Secretary, said that the Government was committed to tough action. It has said supermarkets and off-licences will be banned from selling alcohol below cost price. But he said it was “not clear” that minimum pricing was the best way to control excessive drinking.
“Supply and price are far from the only factors in alcohol misuse. Demand and attitudes are crucial,” he said. “No legislation or initiative will work unless we have a better understanding of what drives people’s decisions.”
Last month Sir Terry Leahy, chief executive of Tesco, said that he was in favour of a minimum price and that binge drinking was one of the most serious issues facing the country.
Studies have shown that alcohol has become 75 per cent more affordable since 1980 as incomes have risen much faster than the price.
Professor Ian Gilmore, head of the Royal College of Physicians and chairman of the Alcohol Health Alliance, said he witnessed “week in week out the burden of alcohol on patients”. A “lot of people were opening a bottle of wine every evening and struggling to get the cork back in again”, he said.
One benefit of minimum pricing was that it would “not affect the price of a pint of beer or a glass of wine in a pub” as they struggled to compete with below-cost selling by supermarkets.
Asked whether people would object to being asked by a GP about their drinking, Professor Gilmore said: “We have a long way to go until people get fed up with being asked.”
Source: The Times, Sam Lister June 2, 2010.
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