Dr Sarah Wollaston . Click here to watch Sarah live. Sarah Wollaston (Totnes, Conservative)How far should the state step in to regulate the free market and alcohol? If a jumbo jet fully laden with passengers crashed over Britain every fortnight, drastic action would be taken, and that is what we are talking about—2. Britain as a result of alcohol. The Office for National Statistics cites the figure of 8,7. Alcohol is linked to more than 6.

Some will argue that this is all about personal responsibility and that we should resist the interference of the nanny state, but how can the 7. We have a blind spot when it comes to the destructive effect of alcohol. Yesterday, I spoke to Stephen Otter, the chief constable of Devon and Cornwall police, who told me that the statistics for 2. Devon and Cornwall was related to alcohol. Since then, the statistics have followed a steadily upward path and alcohol is now related to about half of such crime. The trend is increasing, so how do the victims of violent crime feel when we say that we should leave this to the market? What about taxpayers?

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The cost of the epidemic is out of control. It is at least . At a time when the NHS has to make efficiency savings of . Forty per cent. The impact on health inequalities is undeniable. The difference between the poorest and the wealthiest neighbourhoods in terms of average life expectancy is about seven years, and early deaths from alcohol- related liver disease are a significant contributor to that. Almost one in four deaths in young people is directly caused by alcohol. That means that every week 1.

Positive outcomes could be achieved from a reduction in teenage pregnancies, as well as in educational failure and its impact and sexually transmitted diseases. The state has a duty to protect young people and take action. On personal responsibility, harmful drinking does not just affect the individual; it has a knock- on effect on all those around them when they leave a destructive trail in their wake. If it were possible to solve this problem just through education and gentleman's agreements with the drinks industry and supermarkets, I would say that we should go that way, but that approach has clearly failed.

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That was as true in the 1. This, however, is a general debate on what should be in the alcohol strategy, so I do not want to dwell too long on pricing. Suffice to say that without action on pricing, I am afraid that nothing else will be as effective as it could be. Alcohol is no ordinary commodity and we should not treat it just through market forces.

Philip Davies (Shipley, Conservative)My hon. Friend appears to be making a coherent argument for banning alcohol altogether. I am concerned that she is like the anti- smoking lobby, which tries to come up with different things to restrict smoking in order to hide its real agenda, which is to abolish smoking altogether. If she thinks that alcohol is such a bad thing and that it does so much damage, why not have the courage of her convictions, follow her argument through and say that alcohol should be banned altogether?

Sarah Wollaston (Totnes, Conservative)There is a simple reply to that question—it would not work. We have seen that clearly from the efforts at prohibition in the States. I myself enjoy a drink, as I am sure do most Members present. Spore Creepy And Cute Parts Pack Keygen Mac. Everyone might like a drink, but nobody likes a drunk, and that is what this is about. It is not about stopping people drinking, but about asking at what point the state should step in to address the real harm. There is a balance to be achieved.

I am not suggesting for one moment that my proposals will stop people drinking, and I would not want them to do so. I just want to do something about 2. I propose that we act on price and address availability, marketing, education and labelling, and that we take action on offending behaviour. We should also change the drink- drive limit. Crucially, if we are to put all those measures in place, we also need to help people who already have a problem, which means better screening and treatment in the health service for hazardous, harmful and dependent drinkers. It is also time to send a clear message that we have had enough of drunken antisocial behaviour and violent crime.

On availability—I will try to be brief, because I know that lots of Members want to speak—I welcome the consultation on dealing with the problem of late- night drinking. It is absolutely right that communities should have a greater say in the licensing hours, and I welcome the return from 3 am back to midnight and the idea that those who supply late- night alcohol should contribute to the clean- up cost. Will the Under- Secretary of State for Health, my hon. Friend Anne Milton go further and address whether supermarkets should face greater penalties?

The problem for late- night premises and clubs is that their customers are already drunk when they arrive, having pre- loaded on very cheap alcohol. It is crucial that supermarkets should contribute to the clean- up cost. On marketing, we currently spend . There is clear evidence that marketing encourages not only drinking earlier, but children to drink more when they do. Although it is encouraging that fewer children overall are drinking, we should still remember that, after the Isle of Man and Denmark, we are the country with the highest levels of binge drinking and drunkenness in our schoolchildren. The problem is that the currentcontrols are complex and easily circumvented.

There is an off- the- peg solution that is compatible with European Union law, namely to introduce similar measures to those in France under the Loi . Rather than having a set of complicated measures saying what we cannot do, we would set out clearly where alcohol can be marketed and everything else would not be allowed.

It is also confusing that, while we say that alcohol cannot be associated with youth culture or sporting success, we allow alcohol- related sponsorship of the FA cup and events such as T in the park. We need to protect children. Diane Abbott (Hackney North and Stoke Newington, Labour)Does the hon. Lady agree that it is no coincidence that, between 1. We should protect young people—that is an absolute duty of the state.

On education, the most important point is clear labelling. The drinks industry has made some progress, but if it does not meet its targets the issue should be mandated so that people can be clear about how many units they are drinking and receive advice on the sensible limits. Susan Elan Jones (Clwyd South, Labour)The hon. Lady is making a powerful case and she can rest assured that most Members present do not think that she is anything like Eliot Ness.

On her point about labelling, many of us were rather disappointed that more was not done on the subject of food labelling. Is there is a case for us to do what is done in New York state in terms of food labelling, where an outlet that has more than two branches labels the calorie intake?

That gives people a choice and also provides information. Sarah Wollaston (Totnes, Conservative)That is an excellent point, and I thank the hon. Lady for making it. Certainly, many young women drinkers would be deterred if they realised what the calorie content is for some of the popular alcohol mixer drinks. That might help to stem the rise in vodka mixer drinking among young women. John Pugh (Southport, Liberal Democrat)Is the hon. Lady aware that there is a problem with EU legislation in terms of putting the calorific amount on the bottle?

Sarah Wollaston (Totnes, Conservative)I thank the hon. Gentleman for making that point. EU legislation is getting in the way of an awful lot of the measures I would like to be introduced.

Returning to why education should not be in the hands of the drinks industry, I would like to draw hon. Members' attention to a problem that arose when the Drinkaware Trust introduced its safe drinking recommendations.