Fears of huge rise in deaths from drinking

Three experts, including Professor Sir Ian Gilmore – past president of the Royal College of Physicians – called for urgent action and said current Government plans, which include banning the sale of alcohol below cost price and increasing duty on high-strength beer, were “inconsequential.”

At present, the liver death rate in the UK is 11.4 per 100,000 people, which more than double that of other countries with similar drinking cultures such as Australia, New Zealand, Norway and Sweden.

Writing in the Lancet and using figures from the Office of National Statistics, the experts predicted that over the next 20 years between 160,000 and 250,000 extra lives could be lost if the Government failed to act.

Prof Gilmore, who wrote the article with Nick Sheron from Southampton University and Chris Hawkey, of the Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham, said: “How many more people have to die from alcohol-related conditions, and how many more families devastated by the consequences before the Government takes the situation as seriously as it took the dangers of tobacco?

“We already know that the main ways to reduce alcohol consumption are to increase the price and reduce the availability of alcohol, yet the Government continues to discuss implementing marginal measures while ignoring this evidence.

“Just as the Government would expect us to treat our patients with effective medicines, we expect the Government to take much stronger action to protect people from alcohol-related harm.”

Leeds and Sheffield, as members of the UK Core Cities group, have already resolved to lobby for three legislative changes to tackle problem drinking – a minimum price of 50p per unit for alcohol, changes to the Licensing Act and the inclusion in GP contracts of the requirement to treat alcohol-related conditions.

However, research carried out in Sheffield late last year indicated that well-off people were more likely to drink to hazardous levels.

A report drawn up by Sheffield’s director of public health, Jeremy Wight, found that affluent neighbourhoods had the highest numbers of “hazardous, harmful and dependent drinking” and these people may be “at high risk of serious health problems.”

The authors of this latest study said that UK drinks retailers are “reliant on people risking their health to provide profits” and noted that, according to the Department of Health, three-quarters of alcohol is consumed by hazardous and harmful drinkers.

The experts added that current Government strategies did not go far enough and said: “Plans to ban the sale of alcohol beverages below cost and to increase duty on beer over 7.5 per cent strength are inconsequential because of the tiny fraction of sales that fall into either category. These policies suggest that the Government remains too close to industry.”

The authors also said it was “relatively straightforward” for governments to control alcohol consumption through price, place of sale and promotions.

Professor Jon Rhodes, president of the British Society of Gastroenterology, said: “The Government needs to take some serious steps to tackle this growing problem.”

A Department of Health spokesman said it was taking a “bold new approach to public health” and added: “The Government has wasted no time in taking tough action to tackle problem drinking, including plans to stop supermarkets selling below cost alcohol and working to introduce a tougher licensing regime. We will also be publishing a new alcohol strategy to follow on from the public health white paper in the summer.”