Worrying stats, can it really be true?

[hc4361]

I know Britain has a problem with alcoholism and binge drinking but can 10 people really be admitted 100 times each in a single year?

http://www.birmingham...ngham-97319-29319103/


If correct, surely these 10 could and should be committed to a proper unit to dry out, sober up and hopefully start to deal with their problems.

[VHG]

My daughter worked in a pub for a while.

One man often came in around 5pm and stayed there all evening.

He would have double shot of a spirit (cant remember which one) and he would often have 20 or so of these each evening (sometimes more).

When she told me I used to think it was so sad that was all he could do with his life, and was also frightened to think how much money he was spending each evening.

I have no idea if he was one of the 10 people (we live near Birmingham), but with that level of drinking you have to think he must have had major medical problems.

Funny how some drugs like canabbis are illegal, yet alcohol is legal.

[hc4361]

If alcohol was newly introduced to this country now it would probably be banned.
To be fair though, alcohol is widely drunk in this country and the world, and for the majority it is not a problem at all. I enjoy a drink myself but can't remember the last time I was drunk - must have been 30 years or more ago. I certainly have no health problems caused by drinking.

That article is suggesting some people attend hospital twice a week for a year. That is staggering.

[horseshoes]

I'd love to know how people can even AFFORD to drink that much VHG.

[anotheoldgit]

Yes certain groups are often blaming cheap supermarket booze for the rise in alcoholism, but even if they manage to get the price put up it still won't be a solution to the problem.

Those that one sees tumble out of the pubs and clubs these days, have not been paying supermarket prices for their booze.

So no matter how expensive they make it, they will still pay the prices.

What they should be clamping down on more severely are under-aged drinkers, for example how many times do you see police officers these days going into pubs looking out for under-aged drinkers?

[sandyRoe]

Part of the problem is that the brewers are too close to some political parties. Where there should be regulation there's 'self regulation. In my opinion that's another way of saying minimal regulation.
I can't understand how people can afford to drink so much, or how young drinkers are coming down with alcohol related diseases. It used to be that you needed to be drinking for years before it showed the harm it was doing.

[cazzz1975]

on the estate where I used to live alcoholism was quite common, the corner shop used to stock up on 3 ltr bottles of cheap cider and cheap strong lager, there would be a group of people waiting each morning for the shop to open at 6.30am. it was quite depressing to witness, but an affordable habit