MPs debated the Health Committee report on alcohol late last week covering topics to include proposals for a new alcohol strategy.  Opened by Kevin Barron MP, Chairman of the Health Select Committee and responded by Gillian Merron, Minister of State.

She sets out the Government’s position, “[w]e take seriously the harm to health that alcohol may bring, and we have in place a comprehensive and evidence-based plan to tackle that harm, to provide information to make healthy choices easier and to support those who need help through the national health service. Yes, we can improve, yes, we want to continue to do so, and yes, the Committee’s report will assist us in doing so.

As today’s debate has generally confirmed, there is no one action that we could take to change overnight our culture or the situation in which we find ourselves. Action on alcohol requires close working by industry, community services and Departments across Government.”

Read the full Hansard debate here.

The sale of discounted beer, wine and spirits is due to stop as it is currently being blamed for encouraging excessive alcohol consumption. This scheme, overseen by Health Secretary Andy Burnham, will apply to supermarkets, pubs, clubs and other licensed premises as a way to curb alcohol abuse.  This will also mark a change in policy for Gordon Brown and the Labour Government as they have previously opposed to setting prices and have taken libertarian views on alcohol legislation.  Mr Burnham hopes that the scheme will be supported by the Conservatives.

Recently reported by the Health Select Committee:  While the wine-drinking countries of Southern Europe always had historically very high levels of liver deaths from alcohol related cirrhosis; deaths in these countries have been dropping whereas UK deaths are still rising inexorably.  The UK finally overtook Spain, Italy and France for liver deaths in 2004.

As published by the Health Select Committee in its latest report, the cost of alcohol to the NHS in England for 2006-2007 according to the Department of Health, was £2.7 billion.  In addition, the costs to society were estimated by the Cabinet Office in 2003 to be £20 billion; and another study in 2007 has put this figure at £55 billion.

The report therefore calls for tougher measures to decrease the number of people adversely affected by alcohol.