The Daily Echo 21 December 06

Written by Sandra Gidley MP on Thu 21st Dec 2006

Merry Christmas! As I write the Supermarket tills are dinging merrily as people stock up on Christmas supplies of food and drink and the in-store mountains of booze are temptingly priced at this time of year.

As I load up my supermarket trolley I don't really think about the consequences but some recent research by Mintel caused me to stop and think as I read the prediction of the heaviest ever Christmas alcohol binge.

Analysts have come up with the startling suggestion that over the twelve days of the traditional Christmas an average person will drink the equivalent of 18 pints of beer, eight bottles of wine, a bottle of spirits and a glass of sherry. If you do the maths this is 137 units over the period of less than a fortnight. It is four times more than the recommended amount for a man and five times the amount a woman should drink.

Does it matter? It is only once a year after all. For many people there will not be dire consequences but it is also worth noting that, according to the BMA, many hospitals will be making sure that there are more staff working at night. This is necessary to deal with the increased volume of accidents and assaults which are a knock on effect of the increased alcohol intake.

In August the Centre for Public Health revealed that in the previous year 217,900 men and 147,000 women, in England, were admitted to hospital as a result of alcohol.

There is also a concern that drink driving is on the increase and recent statistics highlighted the fact that, since Labour came to power, there has been a 29% fall in the number of breath tests carried out. Is it any wonder that the number of accidents caused by alcohol has increased by 16%?

In the mean time the Government have increased pub opening hours and has not provided the £2.5 million to fund the usual six week seasonal Alcohol Misuse Enforcement Campaign.

Alcohol can be a very enjoyable part of the social scene but the emergence of young people with end stage liver disease means that much greater attention needs to be paid to the drug which causes more social problems than any other.

The British Liver Trust described the current alcohol laws as "A licence to kill"

Have a Merry Christmas but please take care.

Published with kind permission of The Daily Echo