Clamp down on cheap supermarket booze

Ministers faced fresh pressure today to clamp down on supermarket drink promotions as new figures revealed a dramatic increase in drink-related hospital admissions.

More than 500 people a day are being admitted to hospitals in England after drinking too much - almost a third more than two years ago. In 2003-04 there were 147,659 admissions where alcohol was diagnosed as a cause, compared to 193,637 admissions in 2005-06.

Health campaigners said the rise coincided with the introduction of round-the-clock drinking laws two years ago and the increased prevalence of heavily discounted drinks in supermarkets.

Alison Rogers, the chief executive of the British Liver Trust, said the Government needed to be "less soft" on the major retailers. "The combination of cheap prices, easy accessibility, and the rolling back of barriers to consumption - including the removal of aisle restrictions in supermarkets, the 24-hour licensing laws and the licensing of garages - all combine to send the message that drinking 'anytime, anywhere, anyplace' is acceptable and normal," she told the Daily Telegraph.

Her concerns were echoed by Dr Guy Ratcliffe, medical director of the Medical Council on Alcohol, who said: "The big supermarkets look on alcohol like any other commodity and there is a question about whether alcohol should be treated differently. We are seeing significant liver disease, particularly in the late teens."

This month the backbench Labour MP John Grogan branded the Tesco boss Sir Terence Leahy the "godfather of binge drinking" because of the supermarket's cheap alcohol promotions. His comments - branded "offensive" by Tesco - added pressure on the Government to change the law.