Last year the Department of Health commissioned the School of Health and Related Research (ScHARR) from the University of Sheffield to carry out an independent review of the evidence on the effects of the pricing and promotion of alcohol. It concluded that pricing and availability were the two greatest levers to controlling consumption.

In March Sir Liam Donaldson, the Chief Medical Officer for England, warned that easy access to cheap alcohol was “killing us as never before” and must be curbed with tough licensing laws and a minimum price of 50p per unit of alcohol. But the Prime Minister, who issued a rebuttal to Sir Liam’s report in advance of its publication, said that he did not want to impose additional burdens on the majority, who were “moderate” drinkers.

Proposing the BMA motion to control the nation’s drinking habits, Chandra Mohan, from London, said yesterday that the Government had to stop making excuses for inaction and follow moves in Scotland to introduce a minimum price per unit of alcohol. He 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.

“It is time for us to say enough is enough,” Dr Mohan said. “Alcohol excess affects every part of our society; young professionals; harassed parents; lonely elderly people; children. We need to send out a clear message that this is not acceptable.”

Dr Charles Daniels, from the BMA’s GPs committee, spoke against the motion, saying it was “nanny state politics” and would “punish the majority for the sins of the minority”.

A recent report by the NHS Information Centre showed that a quarter of adults are drinking in quantities that are hazardous to their health, with more than 850,000 people needing hospital treatment for alcohol-related problems in a year.

The number of people admitted to hospital in England with alcohol-related problems has risen by 69 per cent in five years, to 863,000 in 2007-08, although changes to data collection — which now include secondary diagnoses, such as alcohol-related injuries — have contributed to the surge in cases. Two thirds of the admissions were men.

The cost to the NHS of supplying drugs for the treatment of alcohol dependency is £2.4 million, up 39 per cent on 2003.

A spokesperson for the Department of Health said that the Government had decided not to proceed with any national or local measures around minimum unit price.

“While there is good evidence that cheap alcohol is linked to people drinking more and subsequent harm to their health, it is important that any Government interventions reduce harm without impacting unduly on the majority of responsible drinkers. We will look to develop further the evidence base in this area.”

Explore Health

• Expert Advice

• Health Features

• Mental Health

• Alternative Medicine

• Child Health

• Health Club