West Midlands health chiefs have warned the region needs to reconsider its attitude to alcohol after a survey concluded most people think the area has a drink problem.
The warning came at the close of the successful Big Drink Debate, which engaged with people from across the region to talk about alcohol, its effects, people’s attitude to it and its impact on society.
The three month campaign has thrown up various issues, with the most alarming being that the West Midlands is perceived to have a drink problem. Other problems cited were the impact drink has on anti-social behaviour, people’s health and the cost to business.
More than 7,500 people responded to the survey across the region, which detailed the opinions on alcohol consumption, and information about the drinking habits, of the West Midlands.
Among the other findings were that 89 per cent of respondents believe anti-social behaviour is one of the main problems in society today caused by drinking. The cost to the NHS was mentioned by 65 per cent, domestic abuse by 62 per cent, while young people drinking was a concern for 71 per cent.
Dr Jammi Rao, Deputy Regional Director of Public Health, said: "The Big Drink Debate has been an incredibly valuable exercise, giving us an important insight into how the people of the West Midlands are affected by alcohol, how often they drink, what they think are the main impacts on society from people drinking too much and what measures can be taken to improve the situation.
"Alcohol touches so many people’s lives across the region, whether it is a friend or family member who drinks too much, or anti-social behaviour from others. The clearer the picture we can build up about these habits, the better our response will be and the more people we can help."
The data will now be analysed and submitted to various government departments in order for them to develop a more informed approach.
Please note: These facts are specific to the West Midlands Government region as opposed to the West Midlands Conurbation area.
* 1 in 4 people in England have an alcohol use disorder.
* 6% of men and 2% women have an alcohol dependency.
* Between 1960 and 2002 consumption in England doubled.
* Deaths from liver cirrhosis in the UK trebled between 1970 and 1998 and are still rising. The rates for West Midlands men and women are higher than the England average.
* The West Midlands has the third highest alcohol related death rate (17.1 per 100,000 for men and 8.1 per 100,000 for women).
* In 2005 nearly 2700 people in the West Midlands died from medical conditions attributable to alcohol.
* The West Midlands region has one of the highest Alcohol Related Hospital Admissions Rates in England. This amounted to 89,000 people in 2006-7 being admitted to hospital with an alcohol related condition.
* Data for 2006/07 shows that 2,129 young people under the age of 18 in the West Midlands were admitted to hospital because of drinking too much alcohol.
* For every 1,000 people living in the West Midlands, in the last year there were 10 crimes, including 7.3 violent crimes, attributable to alcohol. This amounts to 54,683 crimes attributable to alcohol; of this 39,190 are violent and 763 are of a sexual nature. Incidents of domestic violence are included in the headline figure but often go unreported.
Department of Health