LONDON: A new tax on the sale of alcohol in the UK could see the number of alcohol-related violent injuries in the country fall by as much as 6 000 per year.
In its latest issues, the online medical journal Injury Prevention published the results of a new study which suggested that a small tax on the sale of alcoholic beverages in the UK could lead to a drastic reduction in the number of alcohol-related violent injuries occurring in the country.
A duty on the sale of alcohol set at 1 percent above the national rate of inflation could see the number of violence-related injuries coming to A&E each year reduced by at least 6 000.
Further, if the government took additional measures to reduce the wealth gap in the country, the number of injuries could fall to an even lower 18 000.
The extra duty could lead to the collection of an extra GBP 1 billion per year, which could be used to help pay for alcohol-related injuries in the National Health Service.
In the study it was also claimed that introducing the extra stamp duty would be more effective at preventing alcohol-related violence and injuries than the often proposed minimum unit pricing model.