Raising the price of alcohol will not change the behaviour of dependant drinkers warns Alastair Mordey, a specialist in alcohol and drug addiction. He believes while Government plans announced today may deter social drinkers, creating minimum alcohol price caps will not deter an addict.
“If the UK Government is going to raise alcohol prices it also needs to provide support to the addicts that will remain undeterred by these increased prices. The negative impact will be more on the families and dependants of addicts rather than the addicts themselves.”
Mordey, Programme Director at The Cabin, a world-class drug and alcohol rehabilitation centre based in Thailand, is facing unprecedented levels of demand from the UK for its services.
“The patients we have had here at The Cabin from the UK would never have been deterred by drunk tanks or booze buses. Binge drinkers are just part of the problem. We must also consider the hidden and high functioning alcoholics in UK society, who need direct support from the Government in terms of rehabilitation.
"There are all these services for down and outs/ violent binge drinkers but what about the middle class alcoholic who pays his taxes? No booze buses, drunk tanks or police in hospitals are going to change the lives of the high functioning alcoholic and their families. These people can only be saved through programmes such as we offer at The Cabin.”
Of the £5.7 billion the Government receives from alcohol taxation, £2.7 billion is spent by the NHS to combat alcoholism.
Alastair said: “Perhaps the Government needs to consider the benefits of treatment and the positive long term effects alongside the negative effects of a hike in prices.”
www.thecabinchiangmai.com.
Showing posts with label alcohol. Show all posts
Showing posts with label alcohol. Show all posts
Sunday, 25 March 2012
Sunday, 19 February 2012
Alcohol-Free Week 2012 - Will you take on the Alcohol-Free Challenge?
Will you take on the Alcohol-Free Challenge?
Alcohol-Free Week 22 February – 28 February 2012 - www.alcoholfreeweek.co.uk
Alcohol-Free Week 2012 runs from 22 February to 28 February. During this week it is hoped people will be persuaded to abstain from alcohol for all or part of the week.
The aim is to make people more conscious of their drinking habits and help them see how big a role alcohol plays in their lives and how easy, or difficult, it is to do without.
A website has been set up at www.alcoholfreeweek.co.uk to help those taking up the Alcohol-Free Week challenge. The website offers tips on drinking wisely, suggestions on alternatives to drinking alcohol and a chance to win alcohol-free drinks every day during Alcohol-Free Week.
Alcohol-Free Week has been running since 2007. Each year businesses, local authorities, health trusts, health promotion agencies and educational institutions have held their own events to mark Alcohol-Free Week.
Organisations getting involved in Alcohol-Free Week include the health and social care service Turning Point which has a series of activities planned.
Alcohol-Free Week is sponsored by de-alcoholised and non-alcoholic drinks producers and is backed by the charity FAS Aware UK that promotes alcohol awareness in pregnancy.
The event is organised by the country's leading online alcohol-free drinks specialist retailers The Alcohol-Free Shop and the Lono Drinks Co.
Christine Risby from The Alcohol-Free Shop said: “We are encouraging people to give up alcohol for a weekend or the whole week. Health experts advise that we should have at least two alcohol-free days a week. We hope Alcohol-Free Week will inspire people to look honestly at the amount they drink and adopt a healthier lifestyle.”
Studies by the Cancer Research charity have found that consuming even moderate amounts of alcohol every day increases the risk of some cancers by 10% and, health experts warn, can cause serious liver damage.
(EDITOR: It should be noted, however, for balance, that there is strong evidence that some so-called soft drinks can be extremely harmful, causing damage to teeth (which has nothing to do with the sugar content!) and so on.)
Alcohol-Free Week 22 February – 28 February 2012 - www.alcoholfreeweek.co.uk
Alcohol-Free Week 2012 runs from 22 February to 28 February. During this week it is hoped people will be persuaded to abstain from alcohol for all or part of the week.
The aim is to make people more conscious of their drinking habits and help them see how big a role alcohol plays in their lives and how easy, or difficult, it is to do without.
A website has been set up at www.alcoholfreeweek.co.uk to help those taking up the Alcohol-Free Week challenge. The website offers tips on drinking wisely, suggestions on alternatives to drinking alcohol and a chance to win alcohol-free drinks every day during Alcohol-Free Week.
Alcohol-Free Week has been running since 2007. Each year businesses, local authorities, health trusts, health promotion agencies and educational institutions have held their own events to mark Alcohol-Free Week.
Organisations getting involved in Alcohol-Free Week include the health and social care service Turning Point which has a series of activities planned.
Alcohol-Free Week is sponsored by de-alcoholised and non-alcoholic drinks producers and is backed by the charity FAS Aware UK that promotes alcohol awareness in pregnancy.
The event is organised by the country's leading online alcohol-free drinks specialist retailers The Alcohol-Free Shop and the Lono Drinks Co.
Christine Risby from The Alcohol-Free Shop said: “We are encouraging people to give up alcohol for a weekend or the whole week. Health experts advise that we should have at least two alcohol-free days a week. We hope Alcohol-Free Week will inspire people to look honestly at the amount they drink and adopt a healthier lifestyle.”
Studies by the Cancer Research charity have found that consuming even moderate amounts of alcohol every day increases the risk of some cancers by 10% and, health experts warn, can cause serious liver damage.
(EDITOR: It should be noted, however, for balance, that there is strong evidence that some so-called soft drinks can be extremely harmful, causing damage to teeth (which has nothing to do with the sugar content!) and so on.)
Friday, 2 December 2011
Scrap All Drink Driving Laws, argues Libertarian body
The Libertarian Alliance, the radical free market and civil liberties think tank and pressure group, today calls on the British Government to repeal all laws against drinking and driving. Drivers should be free to drink as much alcohol as they like before and while driving. The Police should be allowed to intervene only if a driver appears from his actions to be a danger to other road users, or if he causes an accident.
Dr Sean Gabb, Director of the Libertarian Alliance, said: "The current law on drinking and driving is a prior restraint law. It can only be enforced by indiscriminate stops and searches. Most of the drivers stopped are not driving erratically and do not test positive. This is a breach of the Common Law prohibition of searches and seizures, except by judicial warrant and on evidence of some specific criminal behaviour.
"Moreover, every officer assigned to looking for drivers over the limit is one officer fewer to catch real criminals. This is specially the case at Christmas, which has lately become carnival a time for burglars and muggers. There are fewer officers around to deter them, and fewer to go looking for them after the event.
"Much of the propaganda against drinking and driving has nothing to do with reducing injuries to life and property, and everything to do with making it harder to enjoy a drink in good company.
"If we want to reduce the number of deaths on the roads, drinking and driving should not in itself be a crime. It should be possible for a person to drink a bottle of whisky, get into a car and drive away - and the authorities should have no power to stop this.
"Punishment should only come if a driver is so erratic that he is plainly dangerous - or if an accident is caused. But it should then in this latter case be very severe punishment.
"In general, we believe in real punishments for real crimes. Unless a real crime can be shown, we believe in telling the police to mind their own business."
(EDITOR: That's Health carries this story as a matter of public interest. Please do leave comments to this story.)
Dr Sean Gabb, Director of the Libertarian Alliance, said: "The current law on drinking and driving is a prior restraint law. It can only be enforced by indiscriminate stops and searches. Most of the drivers stopped are not driving erratically and do not test positive. This is a breach of the Common Law prohibition of searches and seizures, except by judicial warrant and on evidence of some specific criminal behaviour.
"Moreover, every officer assigned to looking for drivers over the limit is one officer fewer to catch real criminals. This is specially the case at Christmas, which has lately become carnival a time for burglars and muggers. There are fewer officers around to deter them, and fewer to go looking for them after the event.
"Much of the propaganda against drinking and driving has nothing to do with reducing injuries to life and property, and everything to do with making it harder to enjoy a drink in good company.
"If we want to reduce the number of deaths on the roads, drinking and driving should not in itself be a crime. It should be possible for a person to drink a bottle of whisky, get into a car and drive away - and the authorities should have no power to stop this.
"Punishment should only come if a driver is so erratic that he is plainly dangerous - or if an accident is caused. But it should then in this latter case be very severe punishment.
"In general, we believe in real punishments for real crimes. Unless a real crime can be shown, we believe in telling the police to mind their own business."
(EDITOR: That's Health carries this story as a matter of public interest. Please do leave comments to this story.)
Tuesday, 8 November 2011
The Sophisticated Alcoholic: a user’s guide
‘The Sophisticated Alcoholic’ is the title of a new book written by therapist David Allen to help people fundamentally change their relationship with alcohol. It is now available on Amazon to pre-order and will be published by O-Books on 25th November 2011, priced £12.99.
With useful step-by-step guides, the book breaks all the rules on treating alcohol dependency, showing people how to eliminate the misuse of alcohol without the need to wage a constant ‘battle against the bottle’ or the need for powerful chemical medication.
Allen’s controversial approach directly challenges flawed, yet generally accepted, concepts from genetic assumptions to conventional treatment regimes.
He denies that there is a need for total abstinence or a lifetime of attendance at self-self help groups. Allen maintains that these self-perpetuating groups take a view of alcoholism that is defeatist, irresponsible and wrong.
Allen’s approach focuses understanding, then changing the root causes of the excessive drinking - negating powerful desires rather than suppressing them.
Ed Mitchell – the former TV presenter whose alcoholism caused him to lose everything – his marriage, his job and his home – and ended up living rough, writes the foreword. A former client of David Allen, Ed Mitchell has won his own personal battle with alcohol and now lives in a flat above an off licence.
In the book, David Allen describes the “invisible majority” – ordinary people with successful careers; those with families who live their lives with responsibility, but use alcohol in a managed fashion, organising their drinking so that it has minimal effect upon their day to day lives yet far in exceeds recommended healthy limits.
“Many of these people have already concluded that they consistently drink too much yet are unable to reduce their consumption despite their intelligence and sophistication,” said Allen.
David Allen, who admits that he once drank to excess himself, estimates that there are 10.5 million ‘sophisticated’ alcoholics in the UK.
Following his personal victory against the booze, Allen has continued to help others to completely change their relationship with alcohol through personal sessions and the world’s first on-line interactive programme delivered by his website that allows people to be treated remotely and with complete anonymity.
Since 2007 hundreds of people have subscribed to the programme. However, whilst online treatment can be hugely beneficial for many, Allen believes it is not necessarily the best means of conveying extensive in-depth information. After running the programme successfully for five years and working directly with individuals, Allen decided these new concepts to people about behaviour control though the book.
“If people understand what drives their behaviour they are better placed to change it,” says Allen. “This is the first step, to promote real awareness of the causes of unwanted behaviour - we are driven by subconscious programs that are almost impossible to change by conscious determination.
FACTFILE:
David Allen himself once drank to excess, but now rarely drinks at all.
After smoking, alcoholism kills more people in the UK than any other drug. One adult in 13 is dependant on drink, according to Government statistics.
Allen also provides, one-to-one sessions, telephone support on on-line treatment programmes through his website.
33,000 people die each year due to alcohol-related incidents or associated health problems.
Alcohol is involved in 15% of road accidents, 26% of drownings, and 36% of death in fires.
A quarter of accidents at work are drink-related.
www.thesophisticatedalcoholic.com
www.control-your-drinking.co.uk
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