Society backs call for alcohol tax rise

The Royal Society of Health supports the Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt's call for increased tax on alcohol to reduce binge drinking among teenagers.

The Chief Executive of the Royal Society of Health, Professor Richard Parish, said;
"Through the wallet is an effective method to cut back access to alcohol for young people and should be used in conjunction with a comprehensive education programme such as Government's latest Know Your Limits campaign, supported by the Society."

"The levels of under-aged drinking continue to rise and we are now at a point where nearly half of all of 15 year olds consume alcohol regularly. This is a worrying trend that has consequencies not just in the long run but also right here and now, alcohol fueled fights and accidents see more and more young people ending up in casualty."

The Society calls on industry to act responsibly, support tax rise proposals and work with policy makers on the marketing and availability of alcohol.

Prof Richard Parish added; "It is disappointing that the EU Alcohol policy released last week (25th Oct) to tackle the recently reported 55million heavy drinking Europeans failed to include compulsory measures on advertising and labeling following concerted lobbying from the industry."