Posts Tagged ‘alcoholic’
Alcohol is costing us dearly – we need action now
A ‘responsibility deal’ is not enough. The BMA believes we need tough legislation to tackle the damage caused by alcohol
The cost of alcohol to British society is currently estimated at over £25bn per annum. This is not just the health costs, but also costs relating to crime and disorder, including domestic violence and fights and accidents on the streets. Health workers see the personal costs; we see the fractured families, the individual tragedies of wholly preventable death and disability. And we want action, now, to start to address this complex problem.
Addiction: a life long illness not lifestyle choice
Addiction: a life long illness not lifestyle choice
Addiction is a major health problem that costs as much as all other mental illnesses combined (about £40 billion per year) and about as much as cancer and cardiovascular disorders also.
At its core addiction is a state of altered brain function that leads to fundamental changes in behavior that are manifest by repeated use of alcohol or other drugs or engaging in activities such as gambling. These are usually resisted, albeit unsuccessfully, by the addict. The key features of addiction is therefore a state of habitual behaviour such as drug taking or gambling that is initially enjoyable but which eventually becomes self-sustaining or habitual. The urge to engage in the behaviour becomes so powerful that it interferes with normal life often to the point of overtaking work, personal relationships and family activities. At this point the person can be said to be addicted: the addict’s every thought and action is directed to their addiction and everything else suffers.
Drink deaths: failure to act will cost an extra 250,000 lives , say doctors
Soaring rates of liver disease will only be reduced by charging more for alcohol and restricting its availability, experts argue
Up to 250,000 people could die because of alcohol over the next 20 years unless ministers take strong action to tackle Britain’s chronic drink problems, leading doctors are warning.
The prediction comes in edition of the Lancet medical journal by three senior experts on alcohol, two of whom are advising the coalition on how to reduce drink-related harm.
In a scathing critique of the government’s approach to alcohol, the trio accuse ministers of pursuing policies that will make no difference to the soaring rates of drink-related liver disease. Ministers, including the health secretary, Andrew Lansley, are “too close” to the drinks industry and too reluctant to take effective steps, they say.
Drugs and harm to society
David Nutt and colleagues1 point out the extent of harm that alcohol does to individuals and to society. In countries with an established market economy, alcohol accounts for 10·3% of disability-adjusted life-years2 (second only to tobacco, with 11·7%).
Relevant also in recessionary times, alcohol has been estimated to cost the UK economy £55·1 billion3 annually (amounting over 15 years to the entire UK deficit). We believe the most important message from this study is therefore the urgent need for more action on the harm caused both to the individual and to society by alcohol.
Teenage girl ‘ladettes’ just as likely to be alcohol binge drinkers
Teenage girl ‘ladettes’ just as likely to be alcohol binge drinkers
Teenage girls are now just as likely to embark on binge drinking as boys, new figures have disclosed.
Government statistics show that girls aged under 15 are consuming an average 11.3 units of alcohol a week, the equivalent of six medium glasses of wine or five pints of beer.
This compares with 11.9 units for an average male teenage drinker who is aged 11 to 15.
