B.C.'s provincial health officer suggests a new tax on alcohol should help pay for the rising health and social costs of increased drinking.

Dr. Perry Kendall said Tuesday that eight per cent more alcohol has flowed since 2002, likely because there's been such a rapid expansion in the number of liquor stores since then.

He said there are now 1,200 liquor stores in B.C. -- over 400 more than in 2002 -- and the increased consumption has led to a hike in alcohol-related car accidents, hospitalizations and risky drinking by younger age groups.

While the government is bringing in half a billion dollars in taxes every year in alcohol sales, the costs to society are exceeding those revenues, Kendall said.

"We probably spend more fixing the problems than we get in revenue for taxes," he said.

"The direct and indirect costs of alcohol consumption in Canada in 2002 were estimated to be about $14.5 billion dollars, so alcohol, while we have a unique relationship with it, has a lot of problems."

Kendall suggested a tax of five cents on high-alcohol drinks would raise $100 million a year for treatment and problems related to fetal alcohol disorders for children, many of whom end up in prison as adults.

He said older Canadians and women are generally in favour of stricter levels of control related to alcohol, including random spot checks by police for impaired drivers.

But Kendall said that when it comes to taxing alcohol, fewer people support the measure, especially younger Canadians and men -- two groups who consume the most alcohol.

Irving Rootman, vice-president of the Public Health Association of B.C., said problems associated with the hike in alcohol consumption are a concern.

"People can consume alcohol but if they're not getting into trouble it's not so important, but when they start driving while impaired and getting into crashes and so on, it's a concern."

Kendall said he would like the government's upcoming 10-year plan for mental health and addictions to draw some attention to alcohol, which he calls the most expensive substance-use problem.

His findings are in a report called Public Health Approach to Alcohol Policy, which is an update of a report he wrote in 2002.

The current report is co-authored by Tim Stockwell, who heads the Centre for Addiction Research of BC at the University of Victoria.