Date Published: 22 July 2008

Alcohol hospital admissions hide individual tragedies, say doctors

The new government figures released today (Tuesday 22 July 2008) revealing that 811,000 people in England were admitted to hospital with alcohol misuse problems in 2006 hide the individual tragedies that hospital frontline staff see day in day out, said the BMA.

The BMA’s Head of Science and Ethics, Dr Vivienne Nathanson, added:

“While this figure is rightly very frightening and shocking, it also hides the hundreds and thousands of individual tragedies that doctors witness every day. Alcohol misuse is related to over 60 medical conditions including heart and liver disease, diabetes, strokes and mental health problems – it costs the NHS millions of pounds every year and is linked to accidents and street violence. The truth is there is nothing glamorous about drinking too much alcohol – it wrecks health, lives and families.

The BMA will be responding in full to the government’s consultation on alcohol and we will certainly be backing tough action like introducing mandatory regulation and labelling and restricting ‘happy hours’ and irresponsible drinks promotions . There can be no more softly, softly approach. The access and affordability of alcohol must be tackled head on.”

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