National Statistics for Alcohol/Drug Related Deaths.

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National Statistics for Alcohol/Drug Related Deaths.

I don't know where else to go, for information. Having just spoken to my tenant support worker from The Alcohol Recovery Project, she tells me that for all of Camden (Largest Borough in the country) there are ten social workers for drug addicts in the borough and just One for alcoholics. Now I remember reading somewhere that pro rata the death rate for alcoholics was 100 to 1 in favour (sic) of alcoholics. My experience in Oxford was the same. In the drug/alcohol project I attended the main focus was on drug addiction. (I know that alcohol is a drug) Our Tone keeps banging on about binge drinking and how it must be stopped, but most of the resources go to drug addiction. Does any ABCtaler know how I can find out exact information from the internet, before writing to my M.P.? I got onto the National Statistics Hoojamaflip and it kept saying, 'Wotruonabout?' I'll never get my head around computers. And I am sober! Ta, Phatalkyda.
P.S. What causes most alcohol related deaths?

"P.S. What causes most alcohol related deaths?" Erm... alcohol?
The United States had 17,732 drink-driving fatalities (traffic fatalities involving a drinking driver) in 2000 (41 per cent of all road fatalities)... US deaths from chronic liver disease and cirrhosis were 27,257 in 2002. During 1997 in Great Britain there was 16,800 casualties in traffic accidents involving illegal alcohol levels, 5% of all traffic accident casualties... since US road stats held pretty static for 1999 and 2000 it seems likely that there were more alcohol related road deaths in the US in 1997 than drink road casualties here in the UK. However the UK seems to suffer more from alcohol abuse amoungst our youths (12 - 20). Hope this link helps - http://www.dh.gov.uk/PublicationsAndStatistics/Publications/Publications...
The United States had 17,732 drink-driving fatalities (traffic fatalities involving a drinking driver) in 2000 (41 per cent of all road fatalities)... US deaths from chronic liver disease and cirrhosis were 27,257 in 2002. During 1997 in Great Britain there was 16,800 casualties in traffic accidents involving illegal alcohol levels, 5% of all traffic accident casualties... since US road stats held pretty static for 1999 and 2000 it seems likely that there were more alcohol related road deaths in the US in 1997 than drink road casualties here in the UK. However the UK seems to suffer more from alcohol abuse amoungst our youths (12 - 20). Hope this link helps - http://www.dh.gov.uk/PublicationsAndStatistics/Publications/Publications...
The road deaths stats set me thinking and I discovered that as a comparison; a total of 3,443 people died on the UK's roads in 2001 - which is less than the number of motorcyclist who died in the United States!
I knew some wag would come back with the answer as alcohol. It is correct but not as we know it. We were asked this question in a treatment centre I was in many years ago. We mentioned cirrhosis, liver cancer, pancreatitis, colon cancer; but no. He just said - accidents. And went on to say that he'd said alcohol related. This includes sober people who are killed by alcoholics, yes, largely traffic accidents, but includes sober people who are killed by their partners or strangers. A good friend of mine collapsed and died in Ireland after a 2 week binge which was a 2 bottles of vodka a day binge. The Dr. put on the death certificate - died from an epileptic fit. Pah! I would almost bet that one could double the total numbers that government agencies publish. But I've still yet to find out the official death rates from anywhere yet. Not even Alcohol Concern.

 

I knew some wag would come back with the answer as alcohol. It is correct but not as we know it. We were asked this question in a treatment centre I was in many years ago. We mentioned cirrhosis, liver cancer, pancreatitis, colon cancer; but no. He just said - accidents. And went on to say that he'd said alcohol related. This includes sober people who are killed by alcoholics, yes, largely traffic accidents, but includes sober people who are killed by their partners or strangers. A good friend of mine collapsed and died in Ireland after a 2 week binge which was a 2 bottles of vodka a day binge. The Dr. put on the death certificate - died from an epileptic fit. Pah! I would almost bet that one could double the total numbers that government agencies publish. But I've still yet to find out the official death rates from anywhere yet. Not even Alcohol Concern.

 

The overall number of deaths related to conditions such as alcoholic liver disease and alcohol poisoning has increased from 5,525 in 2000 to 6,544 in 2004 – an increase of 18.4 per cent. http://www.globalnet.co.uk/news/news.asp?cat=news&aid=15023526
Thanks Mykle, where did you get the information? But as I said if you double those statistics then factor in accidents by alcoholics and the innocent they kill, the figure will be much much higher, and if 'Our Tone' is to be believed, going to get much worse. So why is most of government funding going to drug abuse rehabilitation? My father died from alcoholism - bless his goitered neck - but cause of death was recorded as colon cancer. My Dr. said that if there was a cure for alcohol abuse the surgery would be half full. I would imagine the real truth is closer to 100,000 deaths a year.

 

Thanks Mykle, where did you get the information? But as I said if you double those statistics then factor in accidents by alcoholics and the innocent they kill, the figure will be much much higher, and if 'Our Tone' is to be believed, going to get much worse. So why is most of government funding going to drug abuse rehabilitation? My father died from alcoholism - bless his goitered neck - but cause of death was recorded as colon cancer. My Dr. said that if there was a cure for alcohol abuse the surgery would be half full. I would imagine the real truth is closer to 100,000 deaths a year.

 

"Britain's binge drinking culture is estimated to cost £20bn a year..." That's £20,000,000,000 or £1,000 each for 20 million drinkers! Now we know why the govenment limits how much booze you can bring back from abroad (perhaps they should just be honest and simply add a health tax) - makes you wonder how much the hidden cost of tobacco is.
Thanks for that Bobble, but I think the problem runs deeper. Alcohol is a legal drug. If discovered today would go on the 'hard' drugs list. We know it kills a lot of people we know it makes a lot of people extremely violent, causing untold physical and material damage to the community. And no, I'm against a ban - I think all drugs should be legal - lets deal with addiction. But can you imagine the 'hoot' there'd be if we knew how many people died a year from alcohol abuse? The guy I knew who drowned in a pond on Hampstead Heath. No-he died from alcohol abuse. The many men I've known who died from asphyxiation from there own vomit. No-they died from alcoholism. Need I say more?

 

I found this thread quite interesting. Mainly because I come from a party town and have seen what alcohol and drugs do to folk over many years. Doctors don't care, they know you will be dead soon and it saves them money. Sorry to say it, but it is true. There are organisations out there! AA is good for some but others tell me it is full of god squad! and it you are not so inclined, it doesn't help much. I believe alcohol is a much more of an ingrained problem in many societies than drugs..atthough drugs are catching up fast. I believe this because alcohol is widely available...infact it sustains our economy! and also, until a certain age and step over line, it is acceptable. Youth fall into it's trap because every other prat is doing it. So it is ok. It is only when it starts to hurt us and our families that we may think about trying to stop it, but unfortunately by then it may be very hard. As far as I am concerned the government and their medical establishment have let down the casualties of our society for far too long. And that is all I have to say about that. Tai

Indescribable!

The alcohol / drugs thing is interesting. It's probably worth considering that we probably drink much less than previous generations, all told. Alcohol has been held up as the ruin of society for centuries. The big difference is the meaning of alcohol and the spaces in which it takes place. Off licence sales, as is pointed out above, are free and exceptionally cheap and easy. Town centre drinking is done by moving from enormous cavernous pub to another. Alcohol is a chemical that does certain things to the body, but it's society that gives those things meaning. Alcohol, like any other drug, is something that you're schooled into. You learn the experience over time, it being shaped by those around you and the culture you live in. Also, as a legal drug, alcohol is one of those perfect products. Once bought, it is consumed, which stimulates desire for more, on a physical basis. This gives it a phenomenal hold as a business. So you have a very sizable business sector, who want to create an environment that ensures that their product is consumed in great quantities. They therefore engineer that environment and also encourage the attitudes and ideas that create a certain version of drinking that maximises sales. I think the question that would be useful to answer would be 'What is alcohol for?' This would tell us a lot about what would be needed to combat the perceived or otherwise ill effects. I suppose if you remove social taboos, you have to deal with the effects. The thing with alcohol versus other drugs is that it is normalised to such an extent that any obstacles either physical or in attitude have been removed. Want to buy 98 bottles of beer? Go right ahead sir... There is a perennial debate between state/societal responsibility and personal responsibility. 'Someone should do something about it' versus 'if you can't handle it you shouldn't do it'. Neither is entirely right in this case. I'm pretty sure that the approach of health professionals is that drinking is such an ingrained and normal part of life in the UK that it does not represent a problem in itself, but forms a natural part of being alive. Therefore treatment is done on the basis of a particular problem not as a holistic whole. Drink just IS as far as I can see. Mark Brown, Editor, www.ABCTales.com

 

I think that drugs get the dosh because the impact on crime in society rises with drug abuse, not with alcohol abuse. So trying to control the drug problem is really about control of rising crime/status quo/fear and votes. Drug abuse left unchallenged, potentially, has a much bigger impact on more of society. I don't believe it's anything to do with the individuals who need the help - if it was they'd be providing alternatives for the people at risk so that their lives had some hope and meaning and goals and they wouldn't go into drugs in the first place, they'd go out and work like the rest of us and be unhappy and drink to numb themselves instead and then the government would get lots of revenue from alcohol and not have to pay pensions... gosh am cynical today

 

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