Booze health warning
Half of local men are drinking to a harmful level
Half of Stirling’s male population are drinking to a hazardous level, figures have revealed.
Alcohol Focus Scotland, a group whose aim it is to reduce and prevent alcohol-related harm, released statistics showing that, across the city, one in two men is drinking too much.
Their numbers also revealed that 50 per cent of the male population in Clackmannanshire are also drinking to a “hazardous or harmful” level.
According to guidelines, men and women are advised not to regularly drink more than 14 units each week – the equivalent to six pints of beer or a bottle and a half of wine.
At one-in-six in Stirling and one-in-five in Clacks, the amount of females regularly exceeding this amount was significantly less than that of males.
However, across the whole of Stirling there were 380 alcoholrelated hospital stays, 17 deaths and 12 child protection cases where parental alcohol or drug misuse was involved.
And in the Wee County there were 266 alcohol-related hospital stays, 14 deaths and 26 child protection cases brought about through parental abuse of alcohol of drugs.
Alison Douglas, chief executive of Alcohol Focus Scotland, said: “Regularly drinking more than 14 units per week increases the risk of many illnesses including breast, bowel and oral cancers, liver disease and mental health problems. As well as being a major cause of illness, injury and premature death, alcohol damages families and communities, and costs our public services millions of pounds. To reduce this harm we need to tackle the cheap prices, easy availability and constant promotions which encourage us to drink too much.”
Mid Scotland and Fife MSP Alexander Stewart paid tribute to the work done by Alcohol Focus Scotland while they were exhibiting at the Scottish Parliament last week. He said: “Their aim is a reduction in alcohol harm to individuals, families, communities and Scotland as a whole through the implementation of effective control policies and legislation.
“I am wholeheartedly in favour of this, especially as in my constituencies Alcohol Focus Scotland has published these statistics.
“As well as the clear personal cost which alcohol harm generates, across the four constituencies [Stirling, Clackmannanshire, Fife and Perth and Kinross] the average annual cost is some £223.9million which equates to that of just over £345 per person – figures which clearly need to be addressed with urgency.”
A spokesperson for NHS Forth Valley said: “To help people with alcohol-related problems, we offer a wide range of services and support. The substance misuse team is based in Stirling and Falkirk and, although the majority of referrals come through a GP, they can also be made from other sources such as Signpost Recovery. The service provides a specialist assessment of an individual’s substance misuse problems and staff can offer information on appropriate treatment pathways or advice.”