Brits to Double Cost of Booze to Battle Binging

Authorities hope to prevent deaths by boosting prices
By Mary Papenfuss,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 14, 2010 4:00 AM CST
Brits to Double Cost of Booze to Battle Binging
A drinker collapses on the street in Bristol.   (Getty Images)

British authorities plan to as much as double the price of cheap alcohol to battle the nation's skyrocketing problem of binge drinking. The innovative scheme is intended to help prevent thousands of deaths and hospital admissions every year, according to government officials. A levy may be imposed on the alcohol industry to prevent companies from making windfall profits off of the new prices. Money raised would be earmarked for public health campaigns warning of alcohol dangers.

(More alcohol stories.)

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