Alcohol "does as much harm as smoking"

Alcohol is the cause of almost as many deaths and disabilities worldwide as smoking or high blood pressure, researchers say. According to an international team of scientists writing in the Lancet, alcohol is a factor in around 60 different diseases. As the BBC http://www.bbc.co.uk reports, the researchers found that four per cent of global diseases are attributable to alcohol, compared to 4.1 per cent to tobacco and 4.4 per cent to high blood pressure. The scientists also claim that if the UK increases alcohol prices, there would be fewer deaths. They were particularly critical of the UK's decision to introduce legislation allowing 24-hour drinking from later this year, saying that it had not implemented effective alcohol control policies.