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Coalville
Beer mats highlight link between drinking and domestic violence
Posted on 18/08/08
Use of Alcohol
Alcohol is a major aspect of English culture. Over 90% of the adult population drink alcohol.
Alcohol consumption in England is increasing. From the late 1950s onwards there has been over a 100% escalation in per capita consumption from about four litres of 100% alcohol to over eight litres per head (Academy of Medical Sciences 2004).
Children and Young People
The percentage children and young people drinking alcohol has changed very little.
Nationally, among 11-16 year olds in secondary schools, 25% of boys and 23% of girls report having consumed alcohol in the previous week.
However, those children who do drink alcohol are now drinking more.
Mean weekly units of alcohol consumed by 11 to 16 year olds have doubled between 1990 and 2002 from 5.7 units to 11.5 units for boys and from 4.7 to 9.6 units for girls (Boreham and McManus2003).
Home Consumption
Recent figures published by the Government (Expenditure and Food Survey 2004-05) suggest that there has been a significant increase in the amount of adults consuming alcohol at home.
The purchase of alcoholic drinks by UK households has risen 10% in a year and the average quantity of alcoholic drinks consumed per person over 13 years old is 0.97 litres a week.
Home consumption has increased by 50% in the last decade. This is a lot of drinking for our children to witness.
These figures indicate that there is a need to raise awareness around issues of consuming alcohol in the home, parental responsibilities and future health impacts.
Alcohol Related Harm
The Prime Ministers Strategy Unit (2004) estimates the harms associated with these rising levels of alcohol consumption are now costing 20billion a year.
An overview of the annual cost of alcohol includes:
1.2 million violent incidents (around half of all violent crimes)
360,000 incidents of domestic violence (around a third) which are linked to alcohol misuse
Increased anti social behaviour and fear of crime-61% of the population perceive alcohol related violence as worsening
Expenditure of 95 million on specialist alcohol treatment
Over 30,000 hospital admissions for alcohol dependence syndrome
Up to 22,000 premature deaths per annum
At peak times, up to 70% of all admissions to accident and emergency departments
Up to 1,000 suicides
Up to 17m working days lost through alcohol related absence
Between 780,000 and 1.3 million children affected by parental alcohol problems
Increased divorce-marriages where there are alcohol problems are twice as likely to end in divorce
East Midlands Profile
In the East Midlands it is estimated that one in five people misuse alcohol. Alcohol misuse is a major contributory factor in health inequalities across the region. Alcohol is also implicated in crime and disorder, anti social behaviour and can have significant negative effects on individuals, families and the wider community.
Statistics reveal that:
75% of men and 62% of women report drinking in the last week (2004 the General Household Survey)
23% of men and 11% of women in the East Midlands reported binge drinking on at least one day in the previous week
Although knowledge of alcohol units is increasing only 13% of those who had heard of units used them to keep a check on how many units they drank
There were approximately 30,000 alcohol-related hospital admissions during 2004/05 in the East Midlands
Alcohol is a factor in an estimated 2,000 deaths annually in the East Midlands
The mortality rate due to alcohol related diseases varies throughout the region with more than a two fold difference across local authorities
Mortality rates from chronic liver disease have more than doubled in the last ten years
Nationally, over one fifth (22%) of pupils aged 11 to 15 drank alcohol in the last week
40% of prisoners in the East Midlands and 38% of offenders serving community sentences were identified as having alcohol misuse issues related to their offending
46% of victims of domestic violence believe that the offender was under the influence of alcohol