Soaring rates of alcoholism set to cost £3.7 billion
Friday 02 July 2010
A new report from the charity Alcohol Concern has exposed a 24% rise in levels of moderate and severe alcohol dependency in England and found that the cost to the public sector could be as high as £3.7 billion per year if dependent drinkers are not supported to cut their drinking.
The report finds that there was a 24% increase in the number of dependent drinkers between 2000 and 2007, with the current figure now standing at 1.6 million dependent drinkers in England. If each dependent drinker is not supported to cut down their drinking, the health, welfare and crime costs come to £2,300 per drinker per year, costing the NHS £2.7 billion and society as a whole up to £22 billion per year.
The rise in alcohol dependency was highlighted by the Psychiatric Morbidity Survey published last year. Alcohol Concern claim that Department of Health figures show that only 6% of dependent drinkers are able to access support to reduce their drinking, leaving a huge bill for the public sector. The charity claims that although the numbers of dependent drinkers are now four times higher than that of dependent drug users – funding for alcohol treatment services has lagged so far behind that dependent drinkers are ten times less likely to receive treatment than drug users. As a result, fewer than 1 in 13 dependent drinkers receive NHS or community treatment for their alcoholism.
The report, "Investing in Alcohol Treatment" states that government could save £1.7 billion by providing double the level of treatment support for dependent drinkers, as there is a five-fold saving on public sector costs when treating alcoholism, as health, welfare and crime costs are reduced.
Alcohol Concern Chief Executive, Don Shenker said:
“In this climate of concern over public finances, to leave 94% of dependent drinkers with little access to treatment is very costly. Although not every dependent drinker will want treatment support, making it available to those who need it saves the public purse five times the cost of providing it. The shocking rise in alcohol dependency should be a wakeup call to government to not only address the reasons for the increase, but to also focus on ensuring proper support is available for those who need it. Dependency on alcohol is often not a choice, but a slow drift into chaos."
“The statistics we have examined indicate the increasing levels of alcohol dependence in England and how woefully inadequate current levels of support for alcohol treatment services are. The situation is both socially and economically unsustainable. The 'do nothing' option is simply too costly to seriously consider."
ENDS
Notes for Editors:
- Alcohol Concern Director of Policy & Communications, Nicolay Sorensen is available for interview. Contact 020 7264 0514 or 07588 117 849.
- The report, Investing in Alcohol Treatment – Reducing Costs and Improving Lives can be downloaded from the publications section of the Alcohol Concern website.
- Information on Alcohol Concern’s training and consultancy services is available on the Alcohol Concern website.
- The recent Alcohol Concern Cymru report, What's the damage? outlines the negative health consequences of alcohol misuse
- Alcohol Concern is the national agency on alcohol misuse campaigning for effective alcohol policy and improved services for people whose lives are affected by alcohol-related problems.
- Alcohol Concern is a membership body working at a national level to influence alcohol policy and champion best practice locally. We support professionals and organisations by providing expertise, information and guidance. We are a challenging voice to the drinks industry and promote public awareness of alcohol issues.