UK doctors want cigarette-style warning pictures on alcohol

A meeting of the British Medical Association (BMA) in Edinburgh saw a "substantial majority" of the attending 400 doctors voting in favour of a motion by Dr Raj Nirula, a urologist at the Princess of Wales Hospital in Bridgend, to try and combat binge drinking in the UK. He said doctors had taken the lead on highlighting dangers of smoking and should do the same with excessive alcohol consumption. "There is an epidemic of binge drinking the UK. We have to start from an early age with the teenagers. Binge drinking is becoming the norm culture."

What the doctors want:

Graphic images of diseased livers and mouth cancer displayed on alcohol products and in pubs and bars - warning about the heath risks of drinking too much.

The price of soft drinks lowered in bars and pubs (as they are often more expensive than alcohol meaning drinkers have little incentive to choose a non-alcoholic drink).

Mandatory labels showing alcohol units per drink on bottles and bar taps.

Source: Telegraph & Independent

Madonna and Prince Charles are trying to save the Pub

Both celebrities are trying to do their bit to save the old English pub from extinction - which are reported at closing at the rate of 27 a week. Prince Charles has been promoting village pubs with the campaign "Pub is the Hub", trying to encouraging communities, licensees and the owners of local pubs to work together to help "retain and enhance" rural pubs. While Madonna and Guy Ritchie have taken matters into their own hands, purchasing The Punch Bowl pub in London's Mayfair district.

Source: International Herald Tribune

Britain's 24-hour drinking causing an increase in violence

In the three years after the 2005 introduction of more relaxed drinking laws in Britan, there has been an overall 4% increase in crimes reported between 3am and 6am, the Herald Sun reports. British Culture Secretary Andy Burnham claimed this was most likely a result of drink-fuelled offences.

The softer drinking laws were enacted to try and stop a rapidly increasing alcohol-related death rate - 6.9 deaths per 100,000 people in 1991 increased to 12.9 deaths per 100,000 people by 2005. The laws have seen a "slight fall" in the nation's overall alcohol consumption since 2005, but concern about an embedded binge drinking culture remain.