Alcohol Education – There’s No Doubt It’s Needed
By Dr Bill Robb

Alcohol education may be low on many people’s lists of what has to be done to make our society an even better place in which to live and work. People who have not been assaulted verbally or physically, or had their property damaged by drunken people, may think there are more pressing issues than teaching people (particularly young people) how to drink responsibly. Worse, some adults who as teenagers got drunk themselves, may not regard teenage drinking to be a problem at all and may regard alcohol education as patronising. 

However, examining the statistics and the pain the statistics hide, will erase any doubt about the need for alcohol education that changes behaviours and convinces youngsters to drink responsibly. There is no need to go into detail in this article on every aspect of the damage alcohol abuse causes. There is ample literature on this. What is useful though, is to give an overview of why alcohol education is needed.

Deaths
The alcohol-related death rate in the UK increased from 6.9 per 100,000 of the population in 1991 to 12.9 in 2005. This means that the number of alcohol-related deaths has more than doubled from 4,144 in 1991 to 8,386 in 20051. The numbers don’t give an accurate picture of the tragedy because most of the deaths happened when people are relatively young - way before the end of normal life expectancy.

Ill heath
According to the Department of Health there are 7.1 million "hazardous and harmful" drinkers in England alone, costing the health economy £1.3bn. The list of medical conditions caused by alcohol abuse is long. The terrible problem is that the ill health is often hidden because it takes years to develop. Once cirrhosis of the liver, brain damage and cancer, for example take hold, they are difficult and costly to fix. In England alone some £217 million is spent annually on alcohol treatment interventions (see reference 5).

Loss of ability to function
According to Patient UK (see reference 2) about two in 100 women and about six in 100 men in the UK are alcohol dependent (alcoholics) This means that they cannot function at work or socially unless they have alcohol.

Other problems
A quick glance at any of the recent governmental (see reference 4) and other agency reports on the effects of alcohol abuse will show that a substantial proportion of murders, assaults, robberies, teenage pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases and motor car accidents are cause by alcohol misuse. This means that alcohol education would also be a contribution to sex education, vandalism education and crime education.

The human costs – visible and invisible
Money is only a measuring stick. What does it really mean when we estimate that the total bill from drink-related health, crime and disorder problems has reached almost £20 billion (see reference 3)? It means that:
 

• £20 billion is diverted from other projects that could improve all our lives

• Hospital beds and other resources are unnecessarily used up – when others with legitimate needs have to wait even longer for medical treatment

• Police time is diverted from preventing and solving serious crimes

• Children and babies scared for life by the horrendous experiences of living with drunk and abusive parents

• Family and friends having to live with the pain of loved ones killed before their time or maimed for life.

Effective alcohol education would solve many social problems and make many lives a lot happier. Why are we not spending tens of millions on it? After all, according to the National Heath Service, in 2003 UK households spent £39,143 million on alcohol and the government took in £12,930 million in duty and VAT. (see reference 6) How about a measly £10 million for alcohol education?

References

1   Office for National Statistics, General Register Office for Scotland, Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency Alcohol-related death rates almost doubled since 1991

2.   Patient UK - Alcoholism and Problem Drinking

3.    BBC News - English 'booze culture' Targeted

4.    Such as Safe Sensible Social. The Next Steps in the National Alcohol Strategy, June 2007, Department of Health.

5.    BBC News - Alcohol Statistics 2005

6.  National Health Service Alcohol Statistics 2005

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