Health Committee begins alcohol inquiry
23 April 2009 (updated on 22 April 2010)
The Health Committee holds the first evidence session of its new inquiry into alcohol at 10.30am.
Giving evidence to the Committee will be Professor Ian Gilmore, President of the Royal College of Physicians; Dr Peter Anderson, Public Health Consultant; Professor Martin Plant, University of Western England; Dr James Nicholls, Bath Spa University, and Dr James Kneale, University College London.
The first part of the session will look at the extent of the problem of alcohol misuse in the UK, the causes of increase in drinking, the power of marketing and the effectiveness of interventions.
The second part of the session will provide an historical and cultural context examining the level of alcohol consumption going back five centuries, reasons for these levels, and how they relate to today's trends.