Drug Rehab and Alcohol Rehab

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-21244194

As the debate about minimum pricing of alcohol rages on can we look abroad for an indication of its potential impact?  The experience of Saskatchewan, a Canadian prairie province, suggests that minimum pricing can lower alcohol consumption and in turn reduce the number of alcohol related deaths.  However there still remains an opinion that minimum alcohol pricing will not effectively tackle problem drinking.

What do you think?

Writing in The Lancet leading liver experts say poor alcohol regulation in the UK could lead to quarter of a million deaths in the next two decades. The doctors have suggested that if certain measures are put in place, including imposing a minimum price of 50p per unit of alcohol, the death rate could be reduced by a third.

The debate continues to rage about how much the coalition government is doing to address the huge issue of alcohol related deaths. Sir Richard Thompson, President of the Royal College of Physicians asked “how many more people have to due from alcohol-related conditions….before the government takes the situation as seriously as it took tobacco?”.

The doctors, lead by Professor Sir Ian Gilmore said “Alcohol is not an ordinary commodity like soap powder…It is a drug, it happens to be legal, but it is a drug and there are more the 1.5 million people addicted to alcohol. We think, like other areas of public health, like smoking, like seatbelts, there is a strong case for tougher regulation and the most effective regulation would be around price”.

The current situation in the UK has been compared to 1960s France when liver disease deaths were related to the consumption of cheap alcohol – changes in marketing and price regulation altered this situation. Can the same change happen here? Surely as well as a change in price there has to be a significant shift in the way that addiction is recognised and treated? What are your thoughts?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/12254668

Click on the link above to find out how your drinking could affect you in terms of health and finances.  The ‘Newsbeat’s Booze Calculator’ converts the alcohol you consumed into calories, money and units and compares it to how many units are recommended per week.

Are you surprised by your results?�

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12204010

The above link refers to a news story called ‘Should alcoholics be given drinking zones?’. The link describes a trial that may be conducted in Essex that will see the creation of designated drinking areas in which heavy drinkers are allowed to drink without being moved on the police. Public opinion seems to be mixed about the benefits of this trial; with many reporting that this will create a safe environment for street drinkers and many feeling that designating areas will not help the individuals or the over all problem of alcoholism. This drinking zones trial follows the controversy regarding the decision to create wet day centres around the country. The aim of these wet centres is to ‘provide support, help and treatment for severely disadvantage and chaotic people, including street drinkers…..and to tackle the anti-social behaviour problem for city centres in a constructive, non-criminalising way”. What do you think, are wet day centres and designated drinking areas helping the individuals or just moving the problem?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-12107971

The above link relates to an article expressing a call to ban self-service tills for buying alcohol. The Scottish National Party’s Stewart Maxwell is suggesting to retailers that they act responsibly and voluntarily end the use of self-service tills for the sale of alcohol. It is suggested that having one supervisor overseeing a number of self-service tills makes it difficult to accurately monitor customer’s ages, hence allowing under age customers to buy alcohol undetected. Many self service tills require manual authorisation by an assistant when age restricted items are being purchased, do you think this is enough to prevent under age drinkers from purchasing alcohol or should the use of self-service tills be banned for all age restricted items?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-11719594

The above link refers to the MSPs Alcohol Bill aiming to tackle Scotland’s historical alcohol problems.  Key measures including a minimum drink price and raising the purchase age for off licence sales have not been included in the bill.   It aims to end the sale of alcohol at heavily discounted prices, as well as offers such as buy on get one free.   It is hoped that the bill with ‘pave the way for the introduction, in future, of a “social responsibility fee” on retailers who sell alcohol.

Do you think that these measures will significantly impact the social and health damage caused by alcohol consumption in Scotland or will they just stratch the surface?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-11138535

Research is demonstrating that problem drinking is more prevelent in some parts of the country compared with others (see above link to BBC news article).   Recent research published by the North West Public Health Observatory has found some stark regional divisions, with two thirds of alcohol related harm occuring in the north. 

Health minister Lord Howe said the government was already taking action to stop the sale of alcohol below cost and to review alcohol taxation and price.  However he acknowledged that increasing the cost of alcohol alone will not tackle the huge amount of alcohol related health problems and crime our nation is experiencing:

“Supply and price are not the only factors fuelling misuse though, attitudes are crucial. We need to understand better the psychology behind why different groups of people drink too much. Legislation or initiatives will not work unless we have a better understanding of what drives people’s decisions.”

What are your thoughts?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-10784060

‘24-hour drinking culture failed’.

Home Secretary Theresa May said: “The benefits promised by the 24-hour drinking ‘cafe culture’ have failed to materialise and in its place we have seen an increase in the number of alcohol related incidents and drink fuelled crime and disorder.”

This comes before an expected plan to overhaul licensing laws to tackle alcohol related violent crime, which has increased since the implementation of 24-hour drinking.

The new laws are intending to support local communities and to punish those venues that are deemed to facilitate violent crimes.

Does it come as a surprise to you that the 24-hour drinking laws in the UK have not produced any benefits, but rather caused more problems? Do you think the concerns about trying to encourage a cafe culture should have been considered more carefully before the laws were passed or is it only with hindsight we can see what a failure this concept has been?

Do you know how many units your usual pint contains or how many are in a high ABV% glass of wine?  How often do you drink more the recommended daily units?  Do you think you could accurately estimate how many units you drink in a week or would you be surprised by the real figure?…

Whilst different drinks vary in size and strength, below is a rough guide to how may units of alcohol are in what you are drinking:

Beer, Lager and Cider:

4% - 330ml Bottle = 1.3 units,  440ml Can = 1.8 units, 568ml Pint = 2.3 units

5% - 330ml Bottle = 1.7 units,  440ml Can = 2.2 units, 568ml Pint = 2.8 units

6% - 330ml Bottle - 2.0 uniits, 440ml Can = 2.6 units, 568ml Pint = 3.4 units

9% - 330ml Bottle - 3.0 units,  440ml Can = 4.0 units, 568ml Pint = 5.1 units

Spirits (40%):

25ml Small Measure - 1.0 units, 35ml Large Measure - 1.4 units (multiply by two for double measures)

Wine (red, wine, rose or sparkling):

10% - 125ml Small Glass = 1.25 units, 175ml Standard Glass = 1.75 units, 250ml Large Glass = 2.5 units

           Bottle = 7.5 units

11% - 125ml Small Glass = 1.4 units,   175ml Standard Glass = 1.9 units,   250ml Large Glass = 2.8 units

           Bottle = 8.3 units

12% - 125ml Small Glass = 1.5 units,   175ml Standard Glass = 2.1 units,   250ml Large Glass = 3.0 units

           Bottle = 9 units

13% - 125ml Small Glass = 1.6 units,   175ml Standard Glass = 2.3 units,   250ml Large Glass = 3.3 units

           Bottle = 9.8 units

14% - 125ml Small Glass = 1.75 units, 175ml Standard Glass = 2.5 units,   250ml Large Glass = 3.5 units

           Bottle = 10.5 units

(http://www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/@dh/@en/documents/digitalasset/dh_084637.pdf)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/10207827.stm

The link above refers to a story published this morning on the BBC website. The story advises that a health watchdog has now backed the call for a minimum price per unit of alcohol in the UK.

Do you agree with opinion such as that of Dr Robin Purshouse of Sheffield University that raising the  cvminimum price per unit of alcohol will result in fewer alcohol related deaths and hospital admissions and alcohol related crime OR do you agree with opinions such as that of Simon Litherland of Diageo GB: “Minimum pricing, self evidently, is not going to address alcohol misuse by heavy drinkers because people logic alone tells you that people who have a problem are going to go to any end to actually obtain alcohol.”