The cost of binge drinking to the North's economy is some £770m a year, writes DAN KEENAN,Northern News Editor
THE PLIGHT of teenage liver patient Gareth Anderson has brought renewed focus on the North’s binge drinking culture and the ready supply of cheap alcohol.
The Co Down boy was rushed to hospital after a weekend of heavy drinking with friends which resulted in his liver failing.
Transferred to a top London hospital from the Ulster Hospital in Belfast where he was first treated, Gareth is awaiting a liver transplant. However, he is being forced to wait by King’s College Hospital which requires liver patients to be alcohol free for six months before inclusion on the transplant waiting list.
The boy’s father, Brian, is preparing a legal challenge fearing his son might have only weeks left to live and is being condemned by unfair rules drawn up with long-term alcoholism in mind. Supporting him in this is Prof Roger Williams, the liver specialist and physician to the late George Best.
Anderson says his son, who works with his small construction firm, is neither a seasoned nor constant drinker, but he has had a couple of recent “heavy weekends” – a style of drinking he believes is common to many Northern teenagers.
The Stormont Department of Health has long been concerned about the availability of cheap alcohol and the tendency for supermarkets to offer “loss leaders”, meaning that beer is often less expensive than some soft drinks or mineral water.
The North’s Health Promotion Agency has long warned that many 18 to 30-year-old males concentrate their drinking in heavy sessions with damaging consequences. Official statistics claim the cost to the Northern economy of excessive consumption is some £770 million a year.
It is estimated that 43 per cent of men and 33 per cent of women binge drink, ie take more than four or five drinks in a single session, on a weekly basis.
Throughout the UK, Alcohol Concern has estimated the alcohol-related bill for the National Health Service at more than £3 billion (€3.41 billion). Alcohol is implicated in some 33,000 deaths and in one-sixth of all A&E cases. Some 810,000 people attended the NHS with alcohol-related problems alone in 2007-2008.
Alcohol Concern’s message is simple: booze needs to be less affordable. With the Scottish parliament considering minimum prices for each unit of alcohol, pressure is building for similar proposals in Northern Ireland, England and Wales.
Health Minister Michael McGimpsey has already launched an interdepartmental initiative to tackle teenage drinking, involving the PSNI and retailers. But with retail outlets offering three bottles of wine for £10 (€11.35) or cases of 24 cans of beer for the same price, there is an easy supply of cheap alcohol.
Pubs, many of them countering the economic downturn with a host of special offers, are offering coffee shop-style loyalty cards which reward customers with a free drink for every five purchased. Others offer cut price pints – often just £2 (€2.27) per pint – during televised sporting events.
Nightclubs tempt customers to come in early with lower prices before 11pm, happy hours and “£1 selected shots” offers.
Gareth Anderson’s liver failed after he was reported to have consumed 30 cans of beer over the weekend. That near-fatal dose could have cost him as little as £12.50 (€14.20).