Big British problem with booze

A newly-formed group in Britain called the 'Alcohol Health Alliance' is calling for better alcohol prevention and treatment strategies to deal with the escalating alcohol problem.

The Alliance which consists of 24 charities, medical bodies and patients' groups, is chaired by Professor Ian Gilmore the president of the Royal College of Physicians, and they want to see advertising restrictions and higher taxes on alcohol.

The Alcohol Health Alliance says drink kills more people than breast and cervical cancer and MRSA combined and they want a pre-9pm advertising ban on drink on television and are campaigning for the drink driving limit to be reduced.

The group are demanding a near zero limit for new drivers and more funding for alcohol prevention and treatment strategies along with more publicity about the negative effects of alcohol on health.

According to the group there is evidence that a 10% increase in alcohol tax would cut alcohol-related deaths by between 10 and 30%.

Its figures show a 95% rise in alcohol liver cirrhosis rates since 2000 and a 36% increase in the two years to 2006.

Alcohol-related deaths in Britain have increased 18% from 2002 to 2005 and figures show a 95% rise in alcohol liver cirrhosis rates since 2000 and a 36% increase in the two years to 2006.

The Alliance says as many as 13 children each day are hospitalised as a result of alcohol misuse and unless some action is taken to curb excessive drinking, particularly in the young, more people will die prematurely.

A study by researchers at Liverpool University has revealed that on a night out alcohol consumption was 16.3 units for women and 23.7 for men but many people also had a few drinks before going out; the weekly alcohol limit is 14 units for women and 21 for men.

A unit is equal to half a pint of cider or beer, a small glass of wine or a 25ml measure of spirit.

Official figures show that 7,579 under-18s were admitted to hospital suffering from the effects of alcohol in the 12 months from April 2004.

The move by the Alliance coincides with a report by the Nuffield Council on Bioethics which is also calling for tougher measures to curb alcohol misuse and says increasing alcohol tax and restricting hours of sale would be more effective tactics than the current government efforts.

The British Association for the Study of the Liver says Britain is the only developed nation with rising liver disease rates where 150,000 people each year are admitted to hospital suffering from alcohol-related injury or disease and 22,000 die prematurely, including 5,000 from liver disease.