addaction

Simon Antrobus is Addaction’s Chief Executive. Here, he responds to new statistics on alcohol-related harm, and how that harm breaks down across regions.

‘With Tony Blair admitting that he used alcohol as a ’support’ while in office, it’s clear that drink problems can affect anyone, irrespective of class, background or achievements.

But there is no getting away from the fact that such problems are made worse by social deprivation. The people we work with tell us similar stories, over and over. They have grown up in the UK’s poorest areas, where generations of unemployment and a lack of social mobility are, sadly, all too commonplace. The tragic result of all of this is that people’s life expectancy is being cut short - something we, as a country, need to put right.

There’s a key obstacle in the way, however: a lack of money. There are a lot of great treatment centres across the country, but not nearly enough, and waiting lists for treatment can extend for months. The help Addaction can offer dependent drinkers and their families has proved to be effective, but we - and charities like ours - need the funding to do so much more’.

Addaction’s response to the Home Secretary’s speech on alcohol and related crimes (you can also read a press release on this issue, available here).

Addaction, one of the UK’s leading drug and alcohol treatment charities, says that changing the licensing laws is only going some way in addressing Britain’s binge drinking culture.

The charity believes that there are two key underlying issues to the country’s drink problems that need addressing: a lack of funding for treatment and the sale of heavily discounted alcohol.

The comments come on the back of the Home Secretary’s speech on anti-social behaviour, given in London today

Simon Antrobus, Addaction’s Chief Executive, says: “Before people hit the bars and pubs they often ‘preload’ with cheap alcohol bought from supermarkets; available throughout the day. This alcohol is almost always available to them at rock bottom prices.

“A change to way alcohol is priced will certainly have an affect on the amount our country is drinking. All of us - even responsible drinkers - are paying a premium for this level of consumption. Public services, such as the police or accident and emergency departments, are continually under pressure from alcohol related problems. And this costs us dear.”

Antrobus expands on the pricing issue: “Minimum pricing only benefits the suppliers. Make the extra revenue raised as a result of the tax an alcohol treatment levy. This revenue could then be fed back into the much needed treatment of alcohol dependency.”

The treatment for alcohol in the UK lags behind that which is currently available for drug misuse, despite the fact that the cost of alcohol abuse to society is in the region of £17 – 24 billion per annum. Also, a recent study identified a 24 per cent  increase in the number of dependent drinkers between 2000 and 2007. The charity believes that this should be a priority area for the government:

Antrobus says:”There are a good number of treatment centres across the country, but not nearly enough. Waiting lists for treatment can extend for months. The range of interventions that Addaction offer dependent drinkers and their families have proved to be effective, but we need the funding to do so much more.”

As well as changing the pricing policy, the charity believes that our bars and restaurants need to encourage more responsible drinking and see the end of ‘all you can drink for a tenner’ binge drinking culture.

With six days of running (and a distance of 151 miles) across the Sahara Desert in Morocco, The Marathon des Sables is considered the toughest footrace on earth.

On April 8th, Tom Fitzsimons finished the race at 5.55am, and with a time of 53 hours and 54 minutes. A real achievement and hugely impressive, we think you’ll agree. You can see the moment Tom crossed the finish line, at the start of this youtube video.

Tom took part in the race on behalf of Addaction and the RFL Benevolent Fund. Tom has overcome a drink problem and now runs his own personal training company, helping people who have run into problems with alcohol themselves.

“I’ve not helped hundreds of people,” says Tom, “but I know I’ve helped some. And it’s great to show people they can deal with alcohol addiction, and get themselves back on track. And by raising money for charities like Addaction; I can do my small part in funding support for people with alcohol problems”.

You can read about Tom’s time during the run at his website www.dryingout.org , where you can also find other news, updates and the opportunity to continue to sponsor him in his aims to raise a whopping £10K;  This money that will go directly into helping Addaction’s clients and their families.

If you feel inspired to raise money for Addaction after reading about Tom’s efforts, why not take a look at our events pages?

Yesterday (24th March), STV News in Scotland featured an article on Addaction’s Alcohol Support service in West Glasgow.

The Big Lottery Fund has already pledged to support the project, so it can build on existing work and target adults over 50 who have alcohol problems.

Addaction recognise that the over 50’s are very under represented in alcohol treatment, despite being a very vulnerable group.

Many will be living alone, due to events like divorce, the death of a partner and the fact that their children will have grown up and moved away. Such a solitary way of living can compound any problems they may have with alcohol, and make it harder to get the help to them that they need.
 
Over the next three years, 240 older people and 30 organisations throughout the West of Glasgow would benefit from this new initiative.

You can watch the article about this new work on the STV website, here.

Several sensible measures have been announced in today’s Queen’s speech to help tackle our excessive drinking culture - particularly on ending irresponsible drink promotions and introducing a mandatory code for an alcohol industry that has clearly failed to police itself.

But the government could and should have gone a lot further. When supermarkets are selling cider for 59p per litre and cans of beer for 23p, banning happy hours can only achieve so much.

Read the rest of the press release here

After publishing their 2007 Alcohol Strategy, ‘Safe, Sensible, Social’, the Department of Health committed to commission an independent review of the relationship between alcohol price, promotion and harm.

They consulted with organisations like Addaction on whether there is a need for further regulation on alcohol retailing.

You can read Addaction’s response here.

With the University year starting, Addaction were asked a few questions about the risks of drinking too much. Here’s what we said…

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