Would imposing a minimum price on alcohol benefit society?

(Although I want your criticisms please don't be too harsh with my first post! I'm just need help being more expressive with my opinions! :D )
Britain has long been viewed as being irresponsible when it comes to drink. A view recognised not only by British people, but the world as a whole There is no doubt that it is a problem that needs to be tackled somehow, as it kills 30,000 people a year. One way of tackling this could be as the government is often suggesting is to make it harder to buy such large quantities of cheap alcohol. I partly agree that this would be a sensible option. It would mean less people would be able to become paralytic frequently which would therefore cut down on policing and NHS costs. There would also be less people dying from long term abuse as it has been proven that making alcohol more expensive slows the amount of long term users. However I think there are alot of issues with this option. To start it seems far too controlling. Although the government are there to reign in the extremes of the masses to benefit the majority of people, I think this is a step too close to the whole 'nanny state' thing. Another issue is that it would surely only help to widen the divide between the classes, leaving the poorer unable to afford to unwind with a social drink where as the richer could afford an increase in price and still binge drink without batting an eyelid. As someone who likes to go out and drink but who also knows when I've had enough (although sometimes admittedly I like to watch as I go past this point.) I am wondering why I should suffer the consequences of a few bad eggs? Why should I have to pay more to enjoy myself so that someone else can't afford to drink themselves into oblivion? So I conclude that although there is a real heath and a social issue that needs to be tackled when it comes to alcohol, I do not believe that making it less accessible for everybody is the answer. If someone really wants to drink loads, they are going to anyway - if health issues aren't strong enough to deter them, why would a higher price tag?