NZ can learn from our booze woes, Scot says

New Zealand could learn some sobering lessons from the Scottish Government, which is considering a minimum price for alcohol to curb rising alcohol-related problems, a Scottish adviser says.

Alcohol-related deaths had increased threefold in Scotland over the past 20 years, and alcoholic liver disease had risen 52 per cent between 1998 and 2002.

Scottish parliamentary adviser Dr Peter Rice said alcohol-related cancers were also on the rise.

Dr Rice told an Alcohol Advisory Council conference in Wellington yesterday that "these changes happen quite quickly and there is a cautionary tale here for New Zealand, which is facing many of the issues faced by Scotland".

He said New Zealand should monitor alcohol-related health statistics and invest in early intervention by, for example, general practitioners.

Cheap and easily available alcohol were the key drivers of alcohol problems, and Dr Rice said the Scottish Government was considering introducing a mandatory minimum price for alcohol.

The Scottish Government was also considering banning discounts for multiple purchases and introducing an age limit of 21 at bottle stores.

Dr Rice, a psychiatrist, is a member of a committee established by the Scottish medical colleges to raise awareness of alcohol-related health problems.

The NZ Law Commission has proposed increasing the price of alcohol, raising the drinking age and radically lowering the legal breath-alcohol level for drivers.

- NZPA