CMO calls for minimum pricing on alcohol and targets 'passive drinking'

The Chief Medical Officer's (CMO) annual report, published this week, calls for minimum pricing to be introduced in the chapter 'Passive drinking: the collateral damage from alcohol'. The report highlights the impact of other people's drinking, which he terms 'passive drinking', such as children born with alcohol-related birth defects and those affected by alcohol related violence. The report also suggests that alcohol is 'deeply ingrained' within our society, and that introducing a minimum price of 50 pence per unit would have significant health benefits and would only really impact heavier rather than low risk drinkers. The document recommends that:

• There should be a national consensus, prompted by government, that as a country we should substantially reduce alcohol consumption
• Passive drinking should be acknowledged as a key issue. It should present a consolidated rationale for action and be the basis of a national campaign
• The total impact of passive drinking should be calculated by means of a national study including a full economic analysis
• Licensing laws should reflect the full impact of passive drinking, making public health considerations central to licensing
• As an immediate priority, the government should introduce minimum pricing per unit as a means of reducing the consumption of alcohol and its associated problems. Consideration should be given to setting the minimum price per unit at 50 pence

Significant media attention has arisen over the minimum pricing debate:
- 'Doctors back Donaldson over price rise' The Guardian
-'Supermarket chief says no to minimum pricing' The Publican
-'Concussing yourself with cheap cider does not veto your right to fairness' The Guardian
-'Time to crack down on the price of alcohol' The Times
-'Gordon Brown rejects call to set minimum pricing' The Guardian

The NHS has also released a FAQ webpage explaining the outline of minimum pricing concepts. For a summary on Scotland's minimum pricing plans see here.

Comments

[Georges Domert]

DEFINITION PASSIVE DRINKING (VERSION 11.3 summarized by Georges Domert ,France): alcohol is 50% to 60% of crime and offences & 20% of homicides (by studying alcohol-related crimes, there are e.g. sexual assault); add to this 10000 deaths/year rescences by passive drinking : affecting the faetus of pregnant women (defects), road accidents , domestic violence, child & abused adolescance (beaten, school problems...), the workmen & finally fights in nightclubs, bars - pubs, holiday outdoor municipal (alcohol is associated with in 50% of the fights in general);Follow visible depression syndrome in number of cases of victims of passive alcohol, with cases very serious affected by the moral harassment (threats to break the figure, death threats, mockery-humour character reprehensible & aggressive-, insults, forced alcoholism as a pretext to the unjustified sale of narcotics & cannabis, reprimendes at work, hazing etc. characterized by of debility , madness or squizophrenie).Many authors (cancer trials) show the links between depression and an increase in the frequency of cancers and early mortality (cancer by passive Lac.); thus proven mortality can also result in suicides.The alcoholic désocialise teetotal entourage, the terrorizing and bungling his happiness. "."Binge drinking exhausts the means of our hospitals, generating chaos in our streets and spreading fear in our communities, supported the Prime Minister David Cameron to the United Kingdom.Finally, we must specify the noise pollution remarkable competing pub Irish but just as possible in the simple neighbourhood of neighborhood or residential.Same for odours, sometimes some alcoholics feel the "ammonia"; not to mention the vomissents & some degradation - breaks due to States of drunkenness.On the beach: the residents sleep.Plantar morning bathers hemorrhage due to revellers (videos United-States_BLOGONS sur la plage) sometimes bulky waste.ALCOHOL KILLS (approximately 200.000.000 deaths preventable/century) & specific labels indicating the dangers should be affixed on each bottle.Finally alcohol should be banned in public places except special derogation, with obligation to protect teetotal people , tolerant of alcohol in confined & separated places.

Sorry for traduction (using web)