Major stores reject minimum alcohol unit pricing proposals

Alcohol advertising should be banned and a minimum price introduced to stop people drinking too much, doctors have said.

They called for a minimum price of 50p per unit of alcohol, echoing demands from the Government's chief medical officer earlier this year.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown has given a lukewarm response to Sir Liam Donaldson's idea, saying he wants to protect the "sensible majority of moderate drinkers".

But doctors backed Sir Liam by a majority, saying more needs to be done to tackle the UK's drinking culture. Those attending the British Medical Association (BMA) conference in Liverpool heard how one in four adults are drinking at levels that are hazardous to their health and 36,000 11 to 15-year-olds get drunk every week.

Paediatrician Dr Keith Brent, from Bournemouth, warned that teenagers get "tanked up" on cheap booze bought at supermarkets before heading out for a night on the town.

He blamed "really cheap cider, cheap cheap vodka and alcopops", adding that he saw one or two teenagers every Saturday morning who had overdone it.

Dr Brent accused the Government of ignoring findings of reviews they have commissioned themselves which show that introducing minimum pricing cuts drinking among both young people and heavy drinkers.

He said it was "ludicrous" for the Government to continue to refuse a minimum price on the grounds it would unduly hit the majority of responsible drinkers.

Dr Chandra Mohan, from London, who proposed the motion, said research showed there could be a cut of 100,000 hospital admissions every year in England if minimum pricing was introduced. Over a decade, health savings would be £1.37 billion.

A spokesman for the Department of Health, said: "The Government has decided not to proceed with any national or local measures around minimum unit price."