3 million 'addicted to alcohol' ... apparently
Discussion
More than three million people in the UK cannot get through the day without an alcoholic drink.
The research by Alcohol Concern show that one in 13 adults are dependent.
That is twice the number of people hooked on both legal and illegal drugs.
The findings are being discussed at the Solutions In Mind conference in Manchester.
There is evidence 65% of suicide attempts are related to alcohol and up to 50% of homeless people are thought to be alcoholics.
Eric Appleby, Alcohol Concern chief executive, said: "The bottom line is that some of the most vulnerable people in our society are not receiving the basic levels of support needed to help them get back on their feet.
"This means decreasing waiting times, helping 'hard-to-reach' clients and increasing the number and quality of services available.
"Mental health and alcohol misuse problems are often linked - for this reason mental health service planners and commissioners must include alcohol services in their local service plans."
Those in the South East are hardest hit by alcoholism, according to the study, with almost half a million people suffering from a drinking problem in the region.
London is not far behind with 393,638 people affected by alcohol addiction.
Well I know fish can't manage an evening without alcohol, so how many others of you here are regular evening drinkers and how much do you generally consume?
The research by Alcohol Concern show that one in 13 adults are dependent.
That is twice the number of people hooked on both legal and illegal drugs.
The findings are being discussed at the Solutions In Mind conference in Manchester.
There is evidence 65% of suicide attempts are related to alcohol and up to 50% of homeless people are thought to be alcoholics.
Eric Appleby, Alcohol Concern chief executive, said: "The bottom line is that some of the most vulnerable people in our society are not receiving the basic levels of support needed to help them get back on their feet.
"This means decreasing waiting times, helping 'hard-to-reach' clients and increasing the number and quality of services available.
"Mental health and alcohol misuse problems are often linked - for this reason mental health service planners and commissioners must include alcohol services in their local service plans."
Those in the South East are hardest hit by alcoholism, according to the study, with almost half a million people suffering from a drinking problem in the region.
London is not far behind with 393,638 people affected by alcohol addiction.
Well I know fish can't manage an evening without alcohol, so how many others of you here are regular evening drinkers and how much do you generally consume?
GregE240 said: Typically a bottle between us per night.
Oh, and that's wine, not vodka or anything silly like that
Really ought to go over the channel and stock up. But Sainburys is so much closer.....
Yup us too. Bottle of wine between us practically every night. Oh...and I might chug a beer after cycling home as well.
We Brits have such hang-ups about alcohol. I bet no one in Italy, Spain or France gives a moment's thought to the fact that they drink some alcohol EVERY day - it's just part of life.
I know alcohol can cause problems - but meaningless "sound bites" such as the one quoted (ie over 3 million people in the UK cannot get through the day without an alcoholic drink) are so misleading.
I know alcohol can cause problems - but meaningless "sound bites" such as the one quoted (ie over 3 million people in the UK cannot get through the day without an alcoholic drink) are so misleading.
A mate of mine (age 27) has been recently admitted to rehab with a serious drink problem... his average daily consumption was along the lines of:
couple of shots of voddy before work (to sharpen reflexes)
few shots during the day
few beers/glasses of wine with lunch
few more beers/wines with flatmates on return from work
bottle of spirits after dinner.
Has made us all think about our alcohol consumption, and when I think that I occasionally go a month where I drink every day, it is quite literally a sobering thought. This mate was the same as the rest of us, he just let the booze take control....
couple of shots of voddy before work (to sharpen reflexes)
few shots during the day
few beers/glasses of wine with lunch
few more beers/wines with flatmates on return from work
bottle of spirits after dinner.
Has made us all think about our alcohol consumption, and when I think that I occasionally go a month where I drink every day, it is quite literally a sobering thought. This mate was the same as the rest of us, he just let the booze take control....
IMO if you are an addictive person you will become addicted to something, I know guys who are addicted to coffee, coke cola and gambling. Alcohol is a particularly damaging drug though, look at Flasher, a young man in his early twenties ravaged by alcohol abuse
To put things in perspective, how many here have already admitted to having a quaff in the evening and have done so for some time, are you alcoholics? as ericmc says we worry about these 'soundbites' and the rest of the world carries on
To put things in perspective, how many here have already admitted to having a quaff in the evening and have done so for some time, are you alcoholics? as ericmc says we worry about these 'soundbites' and the rest of the world carries on
3,000,001 
Anyway, everyone knows that the definition of an alcoholic is someone who drinks more than their doctor!
If you want to know, the number of units of alcohol in a drink is the volume of liquid x %alcohol by volume, divided by 1000. It can be quite a surprising calculation! e.g. 6 cans of strong lager a night is roughly the same as drinking the suggested safe limit in a week, every night....
>> Edited by nubbin on Tuesday 4th March 11:10
Anyway, everyone knows that the definition of an alcoholic is someone who drinks more than their doctor!
If you want to know, the number of units of alcohol in a drink is the volume of liquid x %alcohol by volume, divided by 1000. It can be quite a surprising calculation! e.g. 6 cans of strong lager a night is roughly the same as drinking the suggested safe limit in a week, every night....
>> Edited by nubbin on Tuesday 4th March 11:10
Took the last six week's bottles to the bottle bank yesterday - did me and the mrs (well mostly me actually) really drink all of THAT?
Some of the bottles hadn't been washed out - the stench was enough to put me off alcohol for the rest of ....the day. Today's another day and a bottle of something nice beckons to celebrate getting a new job - there's always an excuse for a tipple but like to think I oculd go extended periods without booze - last time was 3.5 weeks in the USA...in 1996!!!!
Some of the bottles hadn't been washed out - the stench was enough to put me off alcohol for the rest of ....the day. Today's another day and a bottle of something nice beckons to celebrate getting a new job - there's always an excuse for a tipple but like to think I oculd go extended periods without booze - last time was 3.5 weeks in the USA...in 1996!!!!
ha - you think we have a hang up about it? Try Americans..
eric mc said: We Brits have such hang-ups about alcohol. I bet no one in Italy, Spain or France gives a moment's thought to the fact that they drink some alcohol EVERY day - it's just part of life.
Feckin complete lack of comprehension of the fact that the sort of drinking Don & Greg are on about (similar to my own drinking habits) does not amount to alcoholism.. AFAIC until you're endangering your family, job and/or your house, there's no reason to think you have a problem. But try telling some yanks that.
It's the ever expanding malady syndrome.. once, we all knew what things like alcoholism, abuse and rape were specifically, but thanks to all the wooly thought that has some out of the states, we're suddenly all child abusing, alcoholic rapists..
It's bollocks... all these terms lose their meanings when thrown about with such abandon.
Like you say, the French go through more wine than bathwater & they don't give a f
k! One other thing, let's not forget that these statistics are produced by 'Alcohol Conern' - that's right, an organisation with a vested interest in highlighting (and exaggerating) the extent of alcoholism in the UK...
If the figures came from the BMA I might be less cynical about them.. okay.. only marginally..
Does anyone remember a couple of years back when the max. recommended weekly intake was raised from 21 & 14 to 28 & 21 units with the blessing of the BMA &/or CMO? Hmm..
If the figures came from the BMA I might be less cynical about them.. okay.. only marginally..
Does anyone remember a couple of years back when the max. recommended weekly intake was raised from 21 & 14 to 28 & 21 units with the blessing of the BMA &/or CMO? Hmm..
Forums | General Gassing [Archive] | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff