Northern Ireland doctors are calling for a minimum price system for alcohol to be introduced, in a move that would see it sold at no less than 50p per unit.

The proposals are being considered as a move to ensure alcohol is "never cheaper than water".

Government guidelines currently state that women should drink no more than 2-3 and men no more than 3-4 units per day. A regular pint of lager is about 2.3 units.

The British Medical Association has said that the health benefits brought about by the new proposals would include avoiding morbidity and premature death caused by drinking.

BMA chairman Paul Darragh said: "BMA believes an effective measure to reduce alcohol misuse is to implement a realistic minimum price.

"This is to ensure that alcohol cannot be sold below cost and, in effect, be cheaper than water to purchase. We believe that such a move will save lives through a reduction in alcohol consumption."

Professor Ian Gilmore, a specialist in liver disease and chair of the European Alcohol and Health Forum Science Group, said: "Given the failure of the Westminster government to follow through on its earlier commitment to a minimum unit price for alcohol, there is a real opportunity for government in Northern Ireland to show the way in adopting this evidence-based public health policy.

"The harm from alcohol in this country is there for all to see, and in minimum unit pricing we have a central plank of policy that we know, from recent experience in Canada, will really save lives."

(IT/CD)