Liverpool tackles alcohol abuse head-on

Liverpool’s Primary Care Trust is calling for the introduction of minimum price legislation on alcohol in a bid to cull Britain’s binge drinking habits.

The organisation is preparing to push the Government to bring in legal requirements that would place a minimum cost of 50p on each unit of alcohol – currently this can be found as low as 10p per unit - and the legislation would push up the price of alcohol across the board.

The PCT, alongside Liverpool City Council, has put its name to the campaign after research by the University of Sheffield indicated a ‘need to change the populations drinking culture’ - an issue which has dominated the media and goverment policy in recent years.

Director of Public Health in Liverpool, Paula Grey, said: “Death rates from alcohol related liver disease are currently 40% higher in the North West than the rest of the country and Liverpool has the highest levels for men in the country and the second highest for women.

“Alcohol prevalence levels in Liverpool have remained consistently high for a number of years and in 2007 alcohol-related hospital admissions were the highest in the country with 70% of all A&E admissions during some weekends, alcohol-related.”

Despite the findings, the proposals have hit a bum note with some areas of population who feel that the introduction of this legislation will hit responsible drinkers where it hurts, whilst having a minimum impact on binge drinkers.

Michael Thompson is from The Portman Group, an organisation set up by the UK’s leading drinks producers to promote responsible drinking. He said: “We understand the reasons behind this call, but we very much doubt that minimum price legislation would deter irresponsible drinkers; instead, it will penalise the responsible drinkers who will have to pay much more to enjoy a drink.”

“This type of legislation is very untargeted and, as so, is pretty ineffective – we realise that the government plays a very big role in encouraging responsible drinking, but alcohol retailers have an even bigger role in marketing their products responsibly.”

The PCT is preparing to put its proposals to the government in the coming month when they will go forward for consideration.