The Government has given its clearest indication yet that a minimum price on alcohol could be on its way.
Health secretary Andy Burnham told the Daily Telegraph he wanted a minimum price of between 40p-50p to form a central plank of Labour's election manifesto.
The news follows the Health Select Committee Report, published last week, which called for a minimum price on alcohol.
"There is rising public concern and we have never shrunk from taking tough public health decisions and we are not going to start now," Burnham told the Telegraph.
"We need to balance the rights of people who drink responsibly with those who buy ludicrously cheap booze and go out and harm themselves and others.
"The NHS Confederation and Royal College of Physicians [who have warned over the impact of alcohol] expressed their views very clearly over Christmas — I can't sit here and read reports like that and say it is all fine.
"The mood has changed and there is rising public concern — we need to respond to that and move on the debate…There is no shortage of research that shows the link with price and people drinking harmful levels of alcohol — there is no debate about that."
Burnham is believed to be considering an additional levy on alcoholic drinks to ensure supermarkets or drinks producers do not profit from a price rise. The money raised would be used to fund public health campaigns.
However, minimum pricing is said to be opposed by lord Mandelson in the Cabinet, who is fearful of its consequences on the drinks industry.
• Read the full Daily Telegraph article here.