Alcohol awareness 2017 – week 3
As we close in on Christmas, consumption of alcohol gets higher, know your limits or you might not remember this magical time of year!
Treatment
- Of the estimated 595,131 dependent drinkers in England, 108,696 were in treatment in 2016-17 for alcohol and alcohol and other non-opiates.
- Around 61% of people seeking treatment for alcohol completed successfully.
- The median age for people in alcohol treatment is 46.
- 9,274 people in treatment are aged 60 years and over (12% of the total).
- In 2015, 196,000 prescriptions for drugs to treat alcohol misuse were prescribed, costing around £3.9 million. This is double the number in 2005.
- Approximately 55% of clients starting treatment were self-referrals. 15% were referrals from general practitioners (GPs), with other referrals from hospitals, social care and other services.
Crime
- Victims believed the offender(s) to be under the influence of alcohol in over half (53%) of all violent incidents, or 704,000 offences.
- 64% of stranger violence, and 70% of violent incidents in the weekends, evenings and night are alcohol-related.
- Alcohol-related crime in the UK is estimated to cost between £8bn and £13bn per year.
- In 2015, there were over 8,000 casualties of drink driving accidents in the UK in 2013, including 220 fatalities and 1,160 serious injuries.
