HAPPY hours and two-for-one bottle shop deals should be banned, say public health experts, as the push to end Australia's proliferation of cheap alcohol intensifies.

The National Alliance for Action on Alcohol says irresponsible discounts encourage drunkenness and fuel alcohol-related violence and health problems.

Mike Daube, co-chair of the alliance of 50 leading health groups - including the Australian Drug Foundation, the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons and the Public Health Association - has urged state governments to tighten licensing laws on discounted drink deals.

''This isn't a matter of clamping down on sensible drinking, but happy hours are all about promoting cheap grog and getting people drunk as quickly as possible. That is irresponsible and we need to do whatever we can to send out the signal that cheap alcohol is not acceptable,'' Professor Daube said. ''This isn't just the health burden. We're talking about 75 per cent of police operational budgets going to alcohol-related issues.''

The Scottish government introduced a ban on happy hour promotions in 2009, and will stop supermarkets and bottle shops offering bulk-buy discounts this year, a move that health experts say is needed here.

There is a global push to reform alcohol pricing, with the World Health Organisation producing a report that showed increasing price was the most effective way to reduce harm among problem drinkers and young people.

In June, the Health Minister, Nicola Roxon, asked the National Prevention Agency to investigate a floor price in a bid to prevent ''dirt cheap alcohol causing enormous harm'' in indigenous communities.

Minimum pricing is already in place in Alice Springs.

The national alliance is lobbying to get minimum pricing and alcohol taxation reform on the agenda at the federal government's tax summit in October.