No 10 backs calls for 'drunk tanks' David Cameron will today give his support to the use of "drunk tanks" - mobile police cells to hold intoxicated revellers until they sober up. The Prime Minister will also hint that he favours a minimum price for alcohol as he reveals that treating drink-related problems costs the NHS almost £3bn a year. On a visit to a hospital in North-East England, he will seek to focus on the growing damage from alcohol abuse, backing such initiatives as "drunk tanks" - one-person cells to hold troublemakers - and "booze buses," which tour the streets helping incapacitated drinkers. The Prime Minister will say that 200,000 people were admitted to hospital last year with alcohol-related conditions - 40 per cent more than in 2003 - while the number treated for extreme drunkenness more than doubled to 18,500. Mr Cameron is keen to ban shops from selling alcohol at below 40p to 50p per unit, as is planned in Scotland. He will warn: "Every night, in town centres, hospitals and police stations... people have to cope with the consequences of alcohol abuse. And the problem is getting worse.