Plans proposed to reduce alcohol-related health costs

A study commissioned by the Scottish government suggests that minimum pricing on alcohol combined with a ban on off-licence discounts could help reduce the number of alcohol-related health problems.

The report, published by the University of Sheffield, found that a 40-pence minimum price together with a total off-trade discount ban could reduce an estimated 6,300 hospital admissions per year.

What's more, the research predicted annual reductions in direct health (NHS) costs of £21 million.

Elliot Elam, a spokesperson for Addaction, commented: "Although it very much has a place in society alcohol can be and often proves to be with the people we see, a very powerfully addictive and destructive substance."

A report from the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee issued in July revealed that in 2006–07, there were 811,000 alcohol-related hospital admissions - a 71 per cent increase over the space of four years.

Alcohol misuse costs the National Health Service (NHS) an estimated £2.7 billion each year.

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