Last week the British Medical Association (BMA) annual conference passed a motion to continue calling for a minimum price and a ban on alcohol advertising. The decision comes as previous calls to introduce minimum pricing have been rejected by the government, with the Prime Minister arguing that they would not 'punish the sensible majority'.
However many groups such as the BMA reject this argument based on research that shows the limited impact a minimum price would have on moderate drinkers - in research drawn up by the university of Sheffield "Moderate drinkers would only pay an extra £12 a year, whereas a harmful drinker, because they buy so many more units, would pay an extra £163 a year." (see story here).
However not all GPs at the BMA conference supported the motion with accusations of 'nanny-state politics', as highlighted in reports from the Daily Telegraph and The Guardian.
Earlier in the year the Chief Medical Officer called for a minimum price in his annual report which was widely backed by health professionals. Scotland are also set to move forward with minimum pricing measures.
Instead Brown's government have focused on increasing duty and a new mandatory code. The code plans to ban irresponsible promotions and take other measures such as ensuring pubs and bars offer smaller measures. The proposals are currently out for consultation until 5th August 2009. A short Alcohol Concern survey is also available on the code.
See here for the BMA's 'Memorandum of evidence from the BMA to the Health Select Committee inquiry on alcohol'
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