Why Sussex should take a measured approach to alcohol

Accidents and fights caused by drunk people are regularly associated with the negative side of the nation’s changing attitudes towards drinking.

However, health bosses are now seeing a growing amount of hospital admissions caused by a gradual increase in the amount of alcohol people consume – often without realising they are drinking more than is good for them.

Figures released this week show that large numbers of older people in Sussex are shortening their lives by drinking too much.

In West Sussex alcohol-related admissions, for illnesses including strokes and cancer, were 1,271 for the period 2007-08.

The trend has been increasing nationally, regionally and locally over the past decade.

Ms Wright said: “Alcohol contributes to high blood pressure and strokes as well as a range of cancers.

Increase

“We have seen a very steady increase in admissions to hospital which have alcohol as a contributory factor.

“People are well aware of the impact of alcohol on the community and crime.

“But we are seeing some acute health problems much earlier, like liver failure, than we would have before.”

She added that a changing shift in attitude towards alcohol means that often people are unknowingly drinking more than they should.

Alcohol is measured in units, with one unit being classed as one small glass of wine, half a pint of beer or a single measure of spirits.

Men are recommended to drink no more than three to four units of alcohol a day and women two to three units.

A bottle of wine consists of about 12 units.

But Ms Wright said people were often drinking more than this, as having alcohol at home had become much more the norm and cheaper.

She said: “We have had some cultural shifts in the way we consume alcohol over the last 20 years.

“People didn’t used to drink at home as much – it was more in a pub or a restaurant with a meal.

“Now we think about having a drink at home after a day at work as a normal thing.

The most significant shift is that there is increased access to alcohol through supermarkets and off-licences.

“So whereas they used to go out once or twice a week, people now might drink every day of the week, which we know isn’t such a good thing.

“Also the price of alcohol has dropped significantly in relation to our income.

“So we have better access to alcohol, cheaper prices and the cultural change in drinking.

The sum of all of that is we are consuming more alcohol than we should be.

“Alcohol is a very important part of our culture and about 90% of adults drink.

“If people are having a glass of wine a night and are keeping within two to three units that is fine, although it would be good if they could have a couple of nights when they didn’t.

“But the point is they are probably having more than that.

“People are steadily consuming larger amounts.

Two glasses of wine poured at home are probably going to be a good four units.”

The NHS is trying to encourage people to cut down on the amount of alcohol they drink.

Ms Wright said: “Because so many of us drink we do tend to think the problem is something over there and ‘isn’t about me’.

“But we need to get people thinking, ‘is it something to do with me?’

Recovery

“It is very important to have at least one day, preferably two, when we don’t drink any alcohol to give the body time to recover.

“If you are coming home from work thinking you could do with a drink, have a soft drink first because you are actually probably just thirsty.

“Also when you are going out have an alcoholic drink and then a soft drink.

“It all seems like common sense and things that people know about but unless they actually think about doing it, it is not going to make a difference.

“Alcohol is so much part of culture that people just don’t see it as a problem.

But from a public health point of view it is a significant issue for us.

“It is one of those lifestyle things that is so easy to change, that if people did it there would be a significant effect.

“We are at the point with alcohol now that we were with smoking 20 years ago.

People haven’t quite got a consciousness of the impact it has on health.

“But communities are starting to have the debate.

“To reverse a cultural trend almost takes a generation and I think it will probably take about ten years to shift.

“We haven’t got that shift yet though and there is quite a long way to go.”