Medics call for increased prices

Doctors and nurses believe that increasing alcohol prices would be a better way of dealing with binge drinking than government health campaigns.

The survey, carried out by the Royal College of Physicians and the Royal College of Nursing, found that 73% believed action was needed on low-priced alcohol and 81% said consumption would reduce if prices went up.

Eighty-four per cent of those questioned believed that public health campaigns were not working.

The poll is published at a time when the drinks industry is warning of severe job losses if duty rises again this month, and in the wake of chief medical officer Sir Liam Donaldson's call for a minimum alcohol price of 50p a unit.

Professor Ian Gilmore, president of the RCP and chairman of the Alcohol Health Alliance, said: "While informing the public through health campaigns is important, these findings show that front-line doctors and nurses treating patients with drink problems do not believe that this is enough to reverse our binge drinking culture."

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