Alcohol - what's new ?

[Rosie1958]

Like Lastlid, I don't drink alcohol at all and I commented on the previous thread about alcohol. I've just been reading a report in the news covering David Cameron's recent vow and was quite surprised to hear just how much this drunken stupor is costing the NHS and the taxpayer, not to mentioning policing .........

"David Cameron has declared war on booze Britain during a visit to a hospital.

The Prime Minister pledged to tackle the growing "scandal" of alcohol-fuelled disorder when he met doctors, nurses, paramedics and local police at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle to highlight the cost of alcohol to the NHS.

He toured the hospital - which has a policeman on duty every Thursday and Friday night to handle incidents of drunken disorder on the wards - with matron Angela McNab and paramedic Paul Fell.

Mr Cameron said: "The facts are pretty stark.

"Alcohol costs the NHS almost £3 billion a year; that is a cost of £90 to every taxpayer.

"This has a huge impact on the NHS and a huge impact on accident and emergency which every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night are overrun by people who are drunk and incapable.

"We need to do more to tackle this problem.

"We are going to look at the issue of alcohol pricing. I'm quite convinced there is deep discounting of alcohol in supermarkets and convenience stores and that it is causing part of the problem.

"We need to take action right across the board. I want to make sure local councils have the power to close down bars that are causing a problem and that police can step in if they need to because it is against the law to sell to people who are drunk or underage.

"We also need to look at the issue of pricing. This is a national problem."

Figures today show an ever-growing bill for the NHS, which currently stands at £2.7 billion a year - including £1 billion on accident and emergency services.

That equates to £90 for every taxpayer, while the wider cost to society of alcohol abuse is estimated to be between £17 billion and £22 billion.

In the last year there were 200,000 hospital admissions for alcohol-related conditions, while the number of people treated for extreme drunkenness more than doubled to 18,500.

In the North East, alcohol-related deaths have tripled in the last two decades.

Every 18 hours, one person dies in the North East from alcohol-related illnesses.

Mr Cameron is known to be attracted to proposals under which the sale of alcohol below between 40p and 50p a unit would be banned.

The Prime Minister is examining Scottish moves to outlaw its sale below 45p a unit, as well as a plan to link taxes on drinks to their strength."



Each and every one of us is accountable for our own actions and this deplorable behaviour is not acceptable and makes my blood boil .......!

[Doc Alan]

Each and every one of us is accountable for our own actions and this deplorable behaviour is not acceptable and makes my blood boil .......!

Thank you Rosie . Politicians have their own agendas, so do healthcare workers, but I try to be more honest than them .
I don't care if members grow tired of the message I'm giving, so long as you read and think about it.
My " fifteen units a week " is either consumed while doing the quiz at a local pub or in other company,never alone !

[Steve.r]

After just finishing a stubby bottle of Carlsberg Export hic!! I must admit that I am not a heavy drinker, or to put is another way I am a light weight!! but I am happy with that. I have always lived in the countryside, so meeting friends always meant driving and I have never drunk and driven in the Uk.

While in Phils though, I find the drinking culture much more easy to slip into. In the heat or to be social it is nice to down a bottle of Red Horse in the evening or at a party. Last time I was there, on one particular night I did go over the top one evening, my asawa had said she had never seen me drunk before but that night she saw me. I dont do it very often as I hate the after affects, but once in a while shouldn't do me too much harm. My other half said she thought I was funny being drunk as all I did was smile and laugh. But drinking to excess for me is not what I like. Probably like many, you know your limits and know when you have a 'buzz' and know when to stop.

[Doc Alan]

I have always lived in the countryside, so meeting friends always meant driving and I have never drunk and driven in the UK.

While in Phils though, I find the drinking culture much more easy to slip into. In the heat or to be social it is nice to down a bottle of Red Horse in the evening or at a party. But drinking to excess for me is not what I like. Probably like many, you know your limits and know when you have a 'buzz' and know when to stop.

Knowing you, Steve, you don't have a problem with alcohol .
Drink - driving laws are a good thing. But one consequence has been closure of pubs. An even more significant reason for their relentless closure is cheap supermarket booze. That's regrettable from the social point of view, and it's also why more people drink ( to excess ) at home. There is less control over what they drink at home. Could be worth watching " Britain's Hidden Alcoholics " next Monday ( 20 ) on BBC One.

[lastlid]

Could be worth watching " Britain's Hidden Alcoholics " next Monday ( 20 ) on BBC One.

Watched it. Interesting.

[Terpe]

.....There is less control over what they drink at home. Could be worth watching " Britain's Hidden Alcoholics " next Monday ( 20 ) on BBC One.

Watched it. Interesting.

I've got my recorder set-up and will watch later.

[mickcant]

We drank for happiness and became unhappy
We drank for joy and became miserable
We drank to be outgoing and became self-absorbed
We drank to be sociable and became argumentative
We drank for sophistication and became crude & obnoxious
We drank for friendship and made enemies
We drank to soften sorrow and wallowed in self-pity
We drank for sleep and woke without rest
We drank for sex drive and lost our potency
We drank for strength and became weak
We drank medicinally and developed health problems
We drank because of job stress and lost the job
We drank for relaxation and got the shakes
We drank for confidence and became uncertain
We drank for bravery and became afraid
We drank for certainty and became doubtful
We drank to stimulate thought and blacked out
We drank to make conversation and slurred our speech
We drank for warmth and lost our cool
We drank for coolness and lost our warmth
We drank to feel heavenly and discovered hell
We drank to forget and became haunted
We drank for freedom and became slaves
We drank for power and became powerless
We drank to erase our problems and saw them multiply
We drank to cope with life....and invited death

[lastlid]

Like Lastlid, I don't drink alcohol at all and I commented on the previous thread about alcohol.

Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy a drink but I have just simply made a concious decision not to, these days. It hasn't been difficult, quite easy really.

There is also the following in my mind. My wife's father died of alcohol related causes. My ex girlfriends father died of alcohol related liver disease. My fathers drinking was prolific and was a factor in my parents marriage failure. And my ex wife's father was an excessive drinker that led to the ugly breakup of her parents marriage. All of this makes it a little easier for me to not drink a drop.

Also excessive drinking accelerates the ageing process, inhibits the nutrional value of good food and adds to the waisteline etc etc.....I want to live that bit longer than I would do otherwise.