AN East Lancashire public health expert has called for a debate on alcohol pricing to improve the area’s health.

Plans to reintroduce a minimum price for a unit of alcohol have been announced in Scotland.

The Scottish Government has not yet fixed a unit price, but hopes to push through a law before next summer to tackle the country’s drink problem.

Dominic Harrison, Blackburn with Darwen’s director of public health, said that the campaign was also gathering pace closer to home.

He said: “A number of local authorities in Greater Manchester and Merseyside have been working on a document that asks councils collectively to agree to consider a 50p minimum unit price.

"The way they are going to form it is to suggest the wording for a local by-law.

“In Lancashire the directors of public health for the five primary care trusts are having discussions about whether we want to follow their example and develop a proposal for consideration.”

In East Lancashire nearly a quarter of the population of adults aged 16 and over drink more than the recommended amount of 21 units for men and 14 units for women per week.

It is estimated that a minimum price of 50p per unit of alcohol, which would mainly affect cheap, low quality products, would save 3,000 lives a year in England.

Mr Harrison said: “I think the real driver in East Lancashire is drinking at home, cheap alcohol outlets and the discounting of alcohol by supermarkets which sell it at less than the price they buy it for.

"It damages people’s health and local pubs that are actually an asset to communities.”