Alison Rogers: Drinking guidelines are in need of a top-up

Whilst there are a number of contributing factors, the British Liver Trust maintains that the lack of clear labels on alcoholic drinks has a significant part to play and is a contributor to the escalation in drinking levels and the rising number of deaths from liver disease. Nearly 65 per cent of people in Scotland who drink alcohol regularly exceed the unit guidelines, and death rates from alcohol have more than doubled in the last 15 years.

Voluntary regulation simply hasn't worked. As the Public Accounts Committee pointed out, only 3 per cent of alcohol packaging complies fully with the industry's guidelines, so people are unable to make an informed judgement about the level of their drinking. This failure by the UK government to take action is inexcusable.

The British Liver Trust is heartened to see that Scotland is already moving towards the introduction of a minimum price per unit of alcohol. The trust supports this but recognises that such a move cannot work alone.

We want clear information available about how much alcohol is in the drinks we buy, and a reminder about safe drinking guidelines. Other factors like alcohol being treated as a loss leader and drink companies glamorising high-strength products are blatantly designed to increase our levels of alcohol consumption. This is costing NHS Scotland 2.25 billion every year.

We need to move beyond the simplistic argument about the minimum price per unit being too much of the "nanny state". For ordinary people, setting a minimum price of 40p per unit would cost just 11p per week. Set against the cost to NHS Scotland each year, this is a bargain and should be a no-brainer.

As well as clear labelling and a minimum price per unit, we need a long-term campaign that provides information about the guidelines and the consequences of regularly drinking to excess.

Alison Rogers is chief executive of the British Liver Trust