Top docs 'ill-informed' on alcohol debate
Top docs are "misguided" and "ill-informed" on the alcohol debate and further draconian measures could shut up to 10,000 pubs.
That's the blistering attack launched by BII chief executive Neil Robertson as he put the trade on the offensive against the proposals for change unveiled by the British Medical Association (BMA) last week.
In its report Under the Influence, the BMA called for a return to restrictive pub opening hours, an end to most drinks promotions, including happy hours, and a complete ban on alcohol advertising.
"The proposals made in last week's report are 'sledgehammer to crack a nut' approaches again, as we see so often from academic institutions and the medical profession, who appear to be rather misguided and ill-informed," said Robertson.
"Where is the evidence to support their claims? We already know that tax increases and changes in licensing hours do not bring down consumption rates so how is this going to help?
"The medics need to remember that a lot of pubs sell more food than drink and that they provide a valuable resource to communities. We've said it time and time again — the pub is often the social hub of a town or village and closing it has far-reaching implications."
He added: "Draconian measures of the sort suggested would shut between 5,000 and 10,000 pubs in the UK resulting in a further 100,000 people out of work. The extent of poor health associated with unemployment is well documented so the end result of the BMA's recommendations would be an increase in poor health rather than an improvement. How can they justify that?
"What's more, the pub is the only environment where alcohol service and consumption is controlled. The more pubs we lose, the more people will drink at home and in unsupervised situations thus creating even bigger problems leading on to associations with drugs and anti-social behaviour. Frankly, the ramifications of the BMA's recommendations are extremely worrying."
Robertson believes that education is the key to a change in culture and strongly objected to the BMA assertion that the "industry funded health education has served the needs of the alcohol industry, not public health".
The BMA report also called for a levy on the alcohol industry to fund a public health body to over-see alcohol-related research, health promotion and policy advice.
"Our response to this is simple: the industry does not need yet another body. The public are already confused by existing health messages (is the safe level of units 14 or 21 per week, for example?). Adding another body with a further set of messages will only add to this confusion and do more harm than good.
"Oh and it's worth noting that a survey by YouGov earlier this year for the Department of Health's own 'Know Your Limits' campaign found that men and women in the health profession (including doctors and nurses, etc) consume on average 26 units of alcohol per week. When you consider that Department of health guidelines suggest no more than 24 units a week for a man and 14 units for a woman, this makes for interesting reading."
