The chairman of the newly-formed Alcohol Health Alliance today admitted its fight for action will be more difficult than getting smoking banned.
Professor Ian Gilmore, president of the Royal College of Physicians, told delegates at a conference on alcohol harm: "It's not as straightforward as the smoking issue. Smoking being bad for you was not even a discussion, alcohol is more complex.
"It's not easy, we know we are up against probably the most powerful lobby there is, in the drinks industry."
One delegate later noted that with smoking the health lobby had a "magic bullet" in the form of the passive smoking argument. He questioned whether a similar argument could be put forward over "passive drinking".
The comments came on the day the Alcohol Health Alliance launched - a group of 24 health and temperance groups aiming to reduce the effects of alcohol misuse. Among its proposals is a 10 per cent increase on alcohol tax.
During today's conference - Reducing the harm caused by alcohol: a co-ordinated European response - held at the Royal College of Physicians in London, Robert Madelin, the European Commission's director general for health and consumer protection, claimed the public want action on alcohol.
"We think we have evidence that citizens want something to be done," he said. "The evidence is still rejected by those who own pieces of the alcohol-value chain. We still have a problem making it clear the man and woman in the street really want action."
Later Professor Sir Michael Marmot of University College London said the health benefits of increasing the price of alcohol were "pretty clear".
"It's very clear, we know the answer, it's interesting that we don't do it," he said. He also highlighted the increased availability of alcohol as a contributing factor to its associated problems.
Later Dr Peter Anderson, a public health expert, questioned whether alcohol advertising should be banned. Among his arguments were that alcohol advertisements increase young people's drinking and self-regulation by the industry is abused.