Nearly three-quarters of doctors and nurses think the government should ban low-priced alcohol to help tackle Britain’s drinking problem.
According to a poll of 205 specialists by the Royal College of Physicians and the Royal College of Nursing, 73% believe action is needed on low-priced alcohol to help reduce the harm it causes.
A further 85% thought public health campaigns were ineffective and that more initiatives are needed to deal with people affected by drinking.
The majority of people questioned said that the government must implement strict measures to clamp down on the sale of cheap alcohol in bars and supermarkets, and one leading specialist said more work is also needed to deal with 24-hour drinking.
Around 81% of the medical staff said they thought that if alcohol was more expensive people would drink less, and 90% said all alcohol should be labelled with unit information and sensible drinking guidelines.
The poll, which included gastroenterologists, hepatologists and nurses, also found that 71% believe more resources are needed to cope with the problems caused by alcohol.
A further 88% said that when it came to the care of people who abuse alcohol funding had not kept up with demand or services were suffering from underinvestment.
Copyright © Press Association 2009
