The UK's two biggest supermarket groups were in open competition today to talk tough on binge drinking as leading doctors called for stronger Government action against the "epidemic" of alcohol abuse.

Tesco, the market leader, said that its chief executive, Sir Terry Leahy – described by one Labour MP last December as "the godfather of British binge drinking" – had personally discussed the issue with the Prime Minister and promised to work with others in the industry to tackle the problem.

Tesco pointed out that competition law prevented retailers from any discussion of prices between themselves, meaning that Government would have to take the lead in developing "responsible pricing" policies.

But only hours after Tesco issued a statement on the issue, Asda, the country's No 2 supermarket group, announced that it was ready to unveil and go ahead with its own measures against under-age drinking without any need for lengthy debate.

“We are already talking to Government about what we can do now as an industry and a company to tackle this issue," Andy Bond, the Asda chief executive, said.

“We will be announcing a package of measures on Monday that focus on restricting access to alcohol in our stores. We believe our proposals can be easily adopted by the entire retail industry immediately, and will go a long way towards tackling the issue without the need for further legislation or delay.”

Between them the two supermarket groups account for almost 50 per cent of the supermarket sector. Both groups have been accused in the past of selling alcohol at heavily reduced prices – sometimes even below the wholesale cost as a "loss leader" to draw in customers.

In a hard-hitting study released today, the British Medical Association said that Britain was "in the midst of an epidemic" of alcohol abuse.

The BMA pointed to alarming statistics on how much UK youngsters, particularly teenage girls, drink. British teenagers are among the most likely in Europe to report heavy drinking and being intoxicated.

The report called for higher taxes on alcoholic drinks, proportionate to the amount of alcohol in the product and an end to “irresponsible” promotional activities such as happy hours and two-for-one offers.

It also urged standardised labels on bottles and cans that state alcohol units, recommended guidelines for consumption and a warning message saying how exceeding guidelines may cause harm and called for the drink-driving limit to be reduced from 80mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood to 50mg per 100ml.

Dr Vivienne Nathanson, the BMA’s head of science and ethics, said: “Recent governments have worked too closely with the alcohol industry and have pursued policies of deregulation and liberalisation regarding alcohol control.

Explore Health

• Expert Advice

• Health Features

• Mental Health

• Alternative Medicine

• Child Health

• Health Club