This site uses cookies in order to function properly and to allow us to improve our service.
By using this site you consent to the use of cookies. Find out more HERE

CLOSE [X]
Subscriber login Close [x]
remember me
You are not logged in.

Medics call for increased prices

Published:  08 April, 2009

Doctors and nurses believe that increasing alcohol prices would be a better way of dealing with binge drinking than government health campaigns.

The survey, carried out by the Royal College of Physicians and the Royal College of Nursing, found that 73% believed action was needed on low-priced alcohol and 81% said consumption would reduce if prices went up.

Eighty-four per cent of those questioned believed that public health campaigns were not working.

The poll is published at a time when the drinks industry is warning of severe job losses if duty rises again this month, and in the wake of chief medical officer Sir Liam Donaldson's call for a minimum alcohol price of 50p a unit.

Professor Ian Gilmore, president of the RCP and chairman of the Alcohol Health Alliance, said: "While informing the public through health campaigns is important, these findings show that front-line doctors and nurses treating patients with drink problems do not believe that this is enough to reverse our binge drinking culture."

Keywords: