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    Alcohol deaths rise in UK

    And, yep, it's middle-class professionals drinking at home.



    BBC News - Alcohol deaths up but overall drinking falls

    Alcohol related deaths in the UK rose to 9,031 in 2008, up from 8,724 the previous year.

    Further research by the Office for National Statistics also shows that the amount being drunk in Britain has fallen slightly.

    Middle-class professionals are still tending to drink more than people on lower incomes.

    Professional adults drink 13.8 units a week, but someone doing a manual job is likely to drink around 10.6 units.

    The trend to less consumption began in 2002 and is unlikely to be reflected in figures on the alcohol deaths for some years.

    A second report from the ONS published today suggests the heaviest drinking takes place at home, rather than in pubs or bars.

    The percentage of people who had bought alcohol from an off-licence in the previous year has gradually fallen from 37% in 1998 to 27% in 2009.

    The Department of Health in England is launching a new television advert today to warn of the hidden damage from alcohol.

    It shows the effect of heavy drinking on vital organs, and is part of the continuing effort to convince people to drink within the recommended healthy limits.

    For a man that is 21 units a week and 14 for a woman.

    The figures published today will feed into a continuing political debate about alcohol.

    A recent report by the Commons health select committee called for a minimum price per unit of alcohol.

    Proposals to introduce a minimum price in Scotland are unlikely to get through the Scottish Parliament as the minority SNP government has failed to win the necessary backing from the other parties.

    Jeremy Beadles, chief executive of the Wine and Spirits Trade Association, said: "Today's Government figures confirm the continued fall in overall alcohol consumption in the UK and reflect changing consumer tastes around Europe with more people drinking at home and a preference for drinking alcohol with a meal in a restaurant.

    "While we should be concerned by the rise in alcohol related-deaths, it's important to remember that overall alcohol consumption has been falling now for several years, suggesting Government efforts to combat alcohol misuse should be focused on the minority of people who drink excessively, not the vast majority who enjoy a drink in moderation."

    Professor Ian Gilmore, president of the Royal College of Physicians and chair of the UK Alcohol Health Alliance, said:

    "These figures are a stark reminder of the needless waste of human life which results from our destructive relationship with alcohol.

    "Despite increased investment in public health campaigns to address problem drinking and the harmful effects of alcohol, deaths from alcohol abuse have more than doubled in the last 16 years and are still rising.

    "We must take tough action now to tackle cheap drink, round the clock availability and insidious marketing and promotions that influence drinking behaviours."
    sigpic
    AF since December 22nd 2008
    Real change is difficult, and slow, and messy - Oliver Burkeman

    #2
    Alcohol deaths rise in UK

    Thanks Marshy,

    IMHO I think the deaths by alcohol are hugely under estimated as many times the death certificate doesn't show the full cause of death.
    Probably to spare the feelings of those left behind.
    It could be worse, I could be filing.
    AF since 7/7/2009

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      #3
      Alcohol deaths rise in UK

      Yes, Jackie, I agree. Only medical conditions directly caused by alcohol are counted apparently - leaving out all the strokes/heart attacks etc. And drink-driving deaths are counted as road accidents rather than alcohol-related deaths etc.
      sigpic
      AF since December 22nd 2008
      Real change is difficult, and slow, and messy - Oliver Burkeman

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        #4
        Alcohol deaths rise in UK

        Very sadly it's hardly surprising news. England is way behind the US in terms of alcohol treatment. Drug addiction is seen as much more of a priority because it attracts so many more headlines due to crime.
        I don't come here much anymore but you can always mail me at rotunda 2000 at hotmail dot com (no spaces). Might be able to help with Bac emergencies

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          #5
          Alcohol deaths rise in UK

          Thanks for sharing this, Marshy. This reminded me to look up what "units" of alcohol are. Well, I sure consumed a lot of them! If for nothing other than health reasons, 2 standard glasses of wine per day is over the healthy limit for women. I remember thinking if I could stick to that, I was OK - though I never could, and one seemed completely ridiculous (impossible rather).

          My thoughts are, look honestly at what you are actually consuming. I suppose 3 is better than 6, but it's still way over the line per day, healthwise. It was the hardest thing I ever did, being honest with myself about how much I really drank, and finally knowing and admitting quitting was my only option.

          Take care, everyone. :h
          ​​Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery, none but ourselves can free our mind ~ Bob Marley ~ Redemption Song

          AUGUST 9, 2009

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            #6
            Alcohol deaths rise in UK

            Dance - the whole units thing is very confusing. We're told that a "standard" drink is one unit, but the drinks that people pour at home are much bigger than that, and a "glass" of wine in a bar can be a third of a bottle. Plus, a pint of beer - which many people here would think of a "one drink" is actually 2-3 units depending on the strength of it.

            I don't think a lot of people realise how little we're supposed to drink to stay within health guidelines.
            sigpic
            AF since December 22nd 2008
            Real change is difficult, and slow, and messy - Oliver Burkeman

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              #7
              Alcohol deaths rise in UK

              Marshy;797793 wrote: Dance - the whole units thing is very confusing. We're told that a "standard" drink is one unit, but the drinks that people pour at home are much bigger than that, and a "glass" of wine in a bar can be a third of a bottle. Plus, a pint of beer - which many people here would think of a "one drink" is actually 2-3 units depending on the strength of it.

              I don't think a lot of people realise how little we're supposed to drink to stay within health guidelines.
              Not sure about some of that Marshy. Most drinks from the shops these days in the UK tell you how many units they contain, and I don't know anyone who confuses 'drinks' with 'units'. But, absolutely agreed that most people pour out more at home than they think they do. My friend's 'double whiskys' (which would be two units) are actually more like four!

              The health guidelines for consumption in the UK imho are absolute nonsense - I've been told as much by a number of doctors. Sure, it's best to drink as little as possible health-wise, but the daily guidelines are just an arbitrary amount, told to us by the same government who can't work out whether cannabis is a class B or C drug, and think that if you have five portions of fruit juice a day you're living healthily because you've met your quota. It's all political nonsense.

              Basically you know if you're drinking too much, don't listen to the government to tell you what's healthy - I bet most of them are way ahead of the numbers they promote for the rest of the nation - most of them probably have that at the bar in the House of Commons at lunchtime!!
              I don't come here much anymore but you can always mail me at rotunda 2000 at hotmail dot com (no spaces). Might be able to help with Bac emergencies

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                #8
                Alcohol deaths rise in UK

                In the U.S. they are not labeled by units, but by ml. (sorry, metric has always confused me, since I grew up with ounces!). So 2 of the little individual bottles of wine are 3.5 units, not that I ever drank just 2 of them. If I poured from a bottle, or worse a box, I always lost count, just kept on refilling the glass. So, it doesn't take much, just from a health standpoint, even without the alcoholic's version of math.
                ​​Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery, none but ourselves can free our mind ~ Bob Marley ~ Redemption Song

                AUGUST 9, 2009

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                  #9
                  Alcohol deaths rise in UK

                  Eight days - endless surveys show "normal" people haven't a clue about units - 77% in this one BBC NEWS | Health | Confusion 'fuels alcohol misuse'

                  It's probably only people with an alcohol problem who do know how many units they're drinking because of our unhealthy interest in the subject.

                  Dance - yeah, they need to say on the side of a box of wine "This box contains X units - don't try to drink it all in one go" :H
                  sigpic
                  AF since December 22nd 2008
                  Real change is difficult, and slow, and messy - Oliver Burkeman

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                    #10
                    Alcohol deaths rise in UK

                    Marshy - appreciate your point, but like I say none of the people I know (hundreds of people) have any problem recognising the difference between drinks and units - unless they are in denial, like my friend with his whisky measures (and actually he knows he has a problem).

                    Most of the BBC online stuff is written by junior staff members who are clueless (my goodness, some of them don't even know how to write properly!) I know this because I know quite a few people who work at the BBC. So please understand why I won't bother to read the article you kindly linked to!

                    Any other links to these 'endless surveys' however I'd be most interested to read
                    I don't come here much anymore but you can always mail me at rotunda 2000 at hotmail dot com (no spaces). Might be able to help with Bac emergencies

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Alcohol deaths rise in UK

                      Zenstyle;798003 wrote:

                      Although I agree with Eight about the health guidelines, I think anything that causes awareness of how much a person is drinking, whether it is scientifically factual or not, is better than nothing.
                      Absolutely agreed!! The politicians may be pulling figures out of their behinds, but at least they're starting to warn people to think about how much they drink, that can only be a good thing
                      I don't come here much anymore but you can always mail me at rotunda 2000 at hotmail dot com (no spaces). Might be able to help with Bac emergencies

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Alcohol deaths rise in UK

                        Zenstyle;798003 wrote:
                        And an interesting factoid... From talking to the folk back home (Scotland) it seems like the perils of abusing alcohol are being broadcast throughout the media over there more and more frequently. And I know that the USA is normally in advance of the UK in a lot of things. But our Publix (large chain of supermarkets) just started selling AL on Sunday mornings this January. I haven't seen AL for sale on a Sunday morning since I moved here... till now. Things that make you say "hmm..."
                        You're right Zen. It seems like every other advert and local news bulletin concerns 'binge drinking' and how to beat it. The government are currently considering a minimum price per unit, which as far as I can see will only put more money in the hands of the people who sell it. I think it's unfair in that it will hit the less well off who can and do enjoy a drink without having a problem with it. Also they're banning (or have banned) drinks promotions in pubs; happy hours and two for one deals and the like, on the premise that the less it costs, the more people will drink. All it will do is make more people drink at home and head to the bars already full. This was always my preferred method of saving a few quid but I spent just as much and came home that much more drunk.
                        I don't think that there's anything wrong with cheap booze. We just need educated. Saying that, perhaps most people need to have some personal misery before they can accept alcohol as being anything but a fun social lubricant.

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                          #13
                          Alcohol deaths rise in UK

                          eight days a week;798007 wrote:
                          Any other links to these 'endless surveys' however I'd be most interested to read
                          Ah, but how would I know which ones you'd deign to read?
                          sigpic
                          AF since December 22nd 2008
                          Real change is difficult, and slow, and messy - Oliver Burkeman

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