PM calls for action on binge drinking 'scandal'

Published: 15 February, 2012

The Prime Mininster will call for drinks producers and retailers to do more to ensure alcohol is consumed responsibly in a hospital visit this morning.

In a speech to be made at a hospital in north east England, he will vow to tackle the "scandal" of drunkenness and alcohol that costs the NHS £2.7 billion a year, according to reports.

Ahead of the government's alcohol strategy, to be published later this year, he is set to recommend drunk people are housed in "drunk tank" cells overnight to sober up.

The forthcoming alcohol strategy is widely rumoured to go beyond the soon-to-be implemented ban on below cost sales, by recommending a minimum price per unit, as proposed in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

According to the Guardian, he will say: "Every night, in town centres, hospitals and police stations across the country, people have to cope with the consequences of alcohol abuse. And the problem is getting worse. Over the last decade we've seen a frightening growth in the number of people - many under-age - who think it's acceptable for people to get drunk in public in ways that wreck lives, spread fear, and increase crime.

"This is one of the scandals of our society and I am determined to deal with it. As figures today show the NHS is having to pick up an ever-growing bill - £2.7bn a year, including £1bn on accident and emergency services alone. That's money we have to spend because of the reckless behaviour of an irresponsible minority.

"Across the country, local hospitals, ambulance crews and the police are rising to the challenge. We must help them to do so and will be setting out how through the forthcoming alcohol strategy. Whether it's the police officers in A&E that have been deployed in some hospitals, the booze buses in Soho and Norwich, or the "drunk tanks" (cells for people who become intoxicated) used abroad, we need innovative solutions to confront the rising tide of unacceptable behaviour."

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