Alcohol misuse: tackling the UK epidemic - London

More documents

Recommendations

Info

BMA Board of Science Prevalence of alcohol consumption In the UK, alcohol consumption is commonplace; however, there is significant variation in the level and pattern of consumption between particular groups. Information on which people consume alcohol and on the level and pattern of their consumption is only available from surveys of individuals about their alcohol use. It is important to note that these surveys are subject to under-reporting and are therefore likely to be underestimates. The vast majority of the UK adult population consume alcohol. The proportion of adults who consume alcohol has been estimated to be 90 per cent in England, 8 and 75 per cent in Northern Ireland. 9 A significant proportion of the UK adult population, however, abstains from alcohol consumption for religious, cultural and other reasons. The prevalence of alcohol consumption varies considerably by ethnic group. According to the General Household Survey (GHS) 2005, only 9 per cent of the White British population are non-drinkers, but the proportion is higher among every ethnic minority group, rising to 90 per cent or more among those of Pakistani and Bangladeshi origin. 10 Individuals of Mixed origin are less likely to be non-drinkers than those in other ethnic minority groups. Twenty-two per cent of those of Mixed White and Black African origin were found to be non-drinkers compared to 48 per cent of those of Black African origin. 10 According to the GHS 2006 b and the Scottish Health Survey (SHS) 2003, men were more likely than women to have had an alcoholic drink in the previous week, and to have drunk on more days of the week, and were much more likely to have drunk alcohol every day during the previous 11, 12 week. Individuals in the 16 to 24 and 65 and over age groups were less likely than those in the middle age range to report drinking alcohol during the previous week; however, although they were less likely to have had a drink at all in the previous week, men and women aged 65 and over drank more frequently than those in younger age groups. 11 Individuals from ethnic minority groups are least likely to have drunk alcohol in the previous week. The GHS 2005 found that respondents of Pakistani or Bangladeshi origin were least likely to have drunk in the week prior to interview (5% and 4% respectively) compared to 68 per cent of those of White British origin and 67 per cent of those recording their ethnicity as ‘Other White’. 10 Individuals from White British (18%) and ‘Other White’ (17%) ethnic groups were most likely to drink on five or more days of the week, while only 1 per cent of individuals of Pakistani or Bangladeshi origin reported doing so. 10 b Methods for calculating alcohol consumption for the GHS were revised in the 2006 edition to reflect the trend towards larger measures and stronger alcoholic drinks, especially wine. It should be noted, however, that changing the way in which alcohol consumption estimates are derived does not in itself reflect a real change in drinking among the adult population. For further information see General household survey 2006 (Office for National Statistics, 2008). Alcohol misuse: tackling the UK epidemic 13
14 BMA Board of Science Patterns of alcohol misuse For the most part, adults in the UK consume alcohol in moderation. In 2004, the PMSU report estimated that 26.3 million adults in Great Britain consume less than the recommended UK guidelines (14 units per week or less for women and 21 units per week or less for men), of whom 4.7 million abstain from all alcohol use. 8 The GHS 2006 found the average weekly consumption for men to be 18.7 units and women 9.0 units. 11 Various estimates have been made for the number of individuals who misuse alcohol in the UK (see Box 1). While these estimates do not provide a definitive picture of consumption patterns, it is clear that a significant proportion of individuals in the UK misuse alcohol by drinking above recommended UK guidelines. Box 1 – estimates of the number of individuals in the UK who misuse alcohol These estimates vary due to different methods of data collection and analysis, and as a result of differences in the categorisation of consumption levels and patterns of consumption. They are not therefore, directly comparable but provide an indication of the levels of alcohol misuse in the UK. The 2003 PMSU interim analytical report estimated that in Britain: 6.4 million people consume alcohol at moderate to heavy levels (between 14 and 35 units per week for women and 21 and 50 units per week for men) 1.8 million people consume alcohol at very heavy levels (over 35 units a week for women and 50 units a week for men) 5.8 million people exceed recommended daily guidelines (between 4-8 units per day for men and 3-6 units for women) 5.9 million people engage in binge drinking (8 or more units per day for men and 6 or more units per day for women) 2.9 million (7%) of the adult population are alcohol dependent. 3 The 2004 Alcohol Needs Assessment Research Project (ANARP) estimated that, for adults in England aged 16-64: c 38 per cent of men and 16 per cent of women have an alcohol use disorder, corresponding to 26 per cent overall (8.2 million people) of the 26 per cent with an alcohol use disorder, 23 per cent (7.1 million) consume alcohol at hazardous or harmful levels (32% of men and 15% of women), and 3.6 per cent (1.1 million) are alcohol dependent (6% of men and 2% of women) 21 per cent of men and 9 per cent of women are binge drinkers. 13 The Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology (POST) estimated that: 5.9 million adults in the UK engage in binge drinking, 23 per cent of men and 9 per cent of women. 14 A 2007 report from the North West Public Health Observatory (NWPHO) estimated that: 1.55 million people in England consume alcohol at harmful levels (over 50 units per week for men and over 35 units per week for women) and a further 6.3 million drink at hazardous levels (between 22 and 50 units per week for men and between 15 and 35 units per week for women). 15 c The 2004 ANARP definition of alcohol use disorders includes harmful drinking, hazardous drinking and alcohol dependence. Hazardous drinking is not included as part of the WHO definition of alcohol use disorders. Please see the glossary for an explanation of terms. Alcohol misuse: tackling the UK epidemic
Page 1 and 2: BMA Board of Science Alcohol misuse
Page 3 and 4: ii BMA Board of Science Editorial b
Page 5 and 6: iv BMA Board of Science Acknowledge
Page 7 and 8: vi BMA Board of Science Glossary No
Page 9 and 10: viii BMA Board of Science Recommend
Page 11 and 12: x BMA Board of Science Alcohol misu
Page 13 and 14: xii BMA Board of Science Alcohol mi
Page 15 and 16: 2 BMA Board of Science shifting to
Page 17 and 18: 4 BMA Board of Science Consideratio
Page 19 and 20: 6 BMA Board of Science Alcohol misu
Page 21 and 22: 8 BMA Board of Science Measures to
Page 23 and 24: 10 BMA Board of Science Introductio
Page 25: Litres of pure alcohol per inhabita
Page 29 and 30: 16 BMA Board of Science Figure 3 -
Page 31 and 32: 18 BMA Board of Science increased w
Page 33 and 34: 20 BMA Board of Science Table 1 - p
Page 35 and 36: 22 BMA Board of Science Alcohol con
Page 37 and 38: 24 BMA Board of Science in 1997/98
Page 39 and 40: 26 BMA Board of Science Alcohol mis
Page 41 and 42: 28 BMA Board of Science Table 3 - p
Page 43 and 44: 30 BMA Board of Science Box 2 - maj
Page 45 and 46: 32 BMA Board of Science attributabl
Page 47 and 48: 34 BMA Board of Science Figure 11 -
Page 49 and 50: 36 BMA Board of Science Causes of a
Page 51 and 52: 38 BMA Board of Science Box 3 - sum
Page 53 and 54: 40 BMA Board of Science Information
Page 55 and 56: 42 BMA Board of Science Driving and
Page 57 and 58: 44 BMA Board of Science Pedestrian
Page 59 and 60: 46 BMA Board of Science Alcohol mis
Page 61 and 62: 48 BMA Board of Science The sub-sec
Page 63 and 64: 50 BMA Board of Science Recommendat
Page 65 and 66: 52 BMA Board of Science Legal age o
Page 67 and 68: 54 BMA Board of Science Recommendat
Page 69 and 70: 56 BMA Board of Science Box 5 - the
Page 71 and 72: BAC (mg/100ml) 58 100 90 80 70 60 5
Page 73 and 74: 60 BMA Board of Science Understandi
Page 75 and 76: 62 BMA Board of Science Early inter
Page 77 and 78:
64 BMA Board of Science At present
Page 79 and 80:
66 BMA Board of Science treatment s
Page 81 and 82:
68 BMA Board of Science Internation
Page 83 and 84:
70 BMA Board of Science Alcohol mis
Page 85 and 86:
72 BMA Board of Science Appendix 2
Page 87 and 88:
74 BMA Board of Science Licensing i
Page 89 and 90:
Page 91 and 92:
Page 93 and 94:
80 BMA Board of Science 23 Hughes T
Page 95 and 96:
82 BMA Board of Science 67 Dex S &
Page 97 and 98:
84 BMA Board of Science 118 Edward
Page 99 and 100:
86 BMA Board of Science 164 McKnigh
Page 101 and 102:
88 BMA Board of Science 209 Babor T
Page 103 and 104:
90 BMA Board of Science 253 Scottis
Page 105 and 106:
92 BMA Board of Science Alcohol mis
Page 107 and 108:
British Medical Association Board o
Page 109:
Board of Science and Education This
Page 112 and 113:
vi Contents Introduction...........
Page 114 and 115:
viii
Page 116 and 117:
2 heavier smoking, drinking and mor
Page 118 and 119:
4 Nutrition, exercise and obesity N
Page 120 and 121:
6 The data for 1998 shows a 21 per
Page 122 and 123:
8 Interventions in adolescent nutri
Page 124 and 125:
10 The efficacy of traditional educ
Page 126 and 127:
12 The treatment of individuals wit
Page 128 and 129:
14 Smoking, drinking and drug use A
Page 130 and 131:
16 The use of illicit substances, a
Page 132 and 133:
18 smoking prevalence was highest a
Page 134 and 135:
20 Interventions in adolescent drug
Page 136 and 137:
22 be expensive given the amount co
Page 138 and 139:
24 is potential to use the media, n
Page 140 and 141:
26 Summary Adolescents in the UK ar
Page 142 and 143:
28 Mental health problems in adoles
Page 144 and 145:
30 Risk factors for conduct, depres
Page 146 and 147:
32 Currently, specialist mental hea
Page 148 and 149:
34 Sexual health Adolescents and se
Page 150 and 151:
36 interferes with the adolescent
Page 152 and 153:
38 Interventions in adolescent sexu
Page 154 and 155:
40 The timing of educational interv
Page 156 and 157:
42 Helping adolescent parents The h
Page 158 and 159:
44 are more difficult to reach than
Page 160 and 161:
46 The way forward This report has
Page 162 and 163:
48 Annex 1 BMA policy on adolescent
Page 164 and 165:
50 References 1 Lobstein T J, James
Page 166 and 167:
52 56 Social Exclusion Unit (1998)
Page 168 and 169:
54 115 Charles Gallichan (2003) Pub
Page 170 and 171:
56 173 NHS Centre for Reviews and D
Page 172 and 173:
Subject: Young People and Alcohol D
Page 174 and 175:
Call for Evidence: Children and You
Page 176 and 177:
5. Do you know of any international
show all

Alcohol misuse: tackling the UK epidemic - London

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?