Alcohol Health Alliance plans revealed

A powerful lobby group is being set up with the aim of increasing tax on alcohol by 10% - and to combat the power of the drinks lobby.

Meanwhile, the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) has hit back claiming doctors know nothing about how markets operate.

The Alcohol Health Alliance will be headed by the Royal College of Physicians and include 21 other groups including Alcohol Concern, the British Liver Trust and the Health Research Trust.

Reports suggest its main aim will be to lobby MPs for an increase in alcohol tax, although talks are at an early stage. The organisation is also expected to push for warning labels, self regulation and greater restrictions on or even a blanket ban on alcohol advertising.

Alcohol Concern chief executive Srabeni Sen told the MA: “It’s basically a collection of organisations that have a shared objective to reduce the amount of harm that alcohol causes to peoples health and society as a whole.

"We will look at how we can work together to achieve common objectives.”

The Alcohol Health Alliance will officially launch in November and define its agenda more clearly.

Increase taxation
The Royal College of Physicians (RCP), who have stated that it is the lead organisation, is in openly in favour of a rise in alcohol taxation.

RCP President Professor Ian Gilmore said: “Research from across the world shows a direct link between affordability of alcohol and level of consumption.

"Raising the tax on alcohol would help reduce our consumption, and reduce the future burden of ill-health from alcohol misuse, while generating more funding for treatment services. This is a win-win for the nation’s health.”

Sen insisted, though, no objective had been decided in relation to Alcohol Health Alliance’s objective on alcohol tax.

She said: “Alcohol Concern as an individual organisation are certainly pushing for a rise in alcohol tax because we believe that there is a significant body of evidence that shows that price is a key way in which you can reduce overall levels of alcohol harm.”

Trade concerns
BBPA director of communications Mark Hastings said: “It just goes to prove that while doctors know an awful lot about medicine they know nothing about markets and how they operate.

“None of the remedies that they propose would have any effect whatsoever on excess drinking in the UK.

“Clearly this is a campaign that our industry is going to have to counter vigorously, the industry will continue to present robustly its long standing arguments around how to tackle alcohol misuse effectively based clearly on actual evidence.”

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