Does the recession have the potential to help the UK government?

As we all know, binge drinking has become a significant problem for the government to tackle in the UK and the governement might take action. The government's top medical adviser has drawn up plans for a minimum price for alcohol which would double the cost of some drinks in England. Under the proposal from Sir Liam Donaldson, it has been reported that no drinks could be sold for less than 50 pence per unit of alcohol they contain. It would mean most bottles of wine could not be sold for less than £4.50, whilst a can of beer would cost £1. A Department of Health spokeswoman said the government "had not ruled out" taking action on cheap alcohol. Sir Liam's proposal is aimed at tackling alcohol misuse and is set out in his annual report on the nation's health.

In today's economic climate, people have less disposable income, money which is available for them to spend on whatever they like. This means that a possible consequence of raising alcohol prises could be that people don't have enough money to buy those few extra pints, meaning less people getting drunk. Therefore, perhaps binge drinking might become a smaller problem in the UK, only time will tell.

The binge drinking problem in the UK has led to campaigns from the NHS (National Health Service) to prevent it, such as the well-known and publicised "Alcohol, know your limits".