Do the over-50s have a drink problem?

READ the claim that there’s a drinking epidemic among the over50s (Mail) with a lot of scepticism. From where do the supposed ‘experts’ get their figures? if older people get fat because they drink, and younger people drink less, why are so many young people far fatter than their parents? if you attend an AA meeting — as i have — hardly anyone there is overweight. i lived on chardonnay and milk for six months, lost 5st and ended up in hospital with borderline anorexia. i’m out of that mess now and have regained a normal weight. i’m 5ft 6in and 11st 7lb. According to the ‘experts’, i should be 10st 3lb. i never touch sugary drinks and hardly ever eat puddings/desserts or anything like biscuits and sweets. if you compare the price of a cheap bottle of wine with that of a bottle of soft, fizzy, sweetened drink, there isn’t much difference, therefore a tax on sweet fizzy drinks should be exactly the same as that on alcohol.

ANNE JONES, address supplied. TO BE told that alcohol abuse is affecting the successful middle classes (Mail) is no surprise: people in that age group with alcohol problems started drinking in their early 20s, if not before, and by now have been drinking for at least 30 years. One of the challenges we face is that alcohol is embedded in our culture. For example, people often feel forced to explain why they don’t drink at social events, whereas you could drink three glasses of wine and no one would question it. It’s important not to become complacent about the harmful effects excessive drinking can have on your health, career, social life and relationships. We also need to change misconceptions around excessive drinking and alcohol dependency. This is something that can and does affect everyone.

Prof OSCAR D’AGNONE, CRI Medical Director, London WC1.