March 2017 DDN March 2017 DDN Magazine | Page 5

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ALCOHOL DEATHS UP AGAIN

‘ We need measures which address the pocket money prices... the 24 hour availability and its heavy marketing.’

PRof SiR iAn giLmoRe

THERE WERE 8,758 ALCOHOL-RELATED DEATHS IN THE UK IN 2015, according the latest ONS figures, a slight increase from 8,697 the preceding year. The figures are nearly double the 4,929 deaths recorded 20 years previously, however.

Nearly two thirds of the deaths were among men, and both male and female death rates were highest in the 55-64 age range. Scotland remains the UK country with the highest death rates, although these have been falling since their peak in the early 2000s.

‘ Despite recent falls in overall alcohol consumption, the upward trend of alcohol-related deaths persists,’ said chair of the Alcohol Health Alliance, Professor Sir Ian Gilmore.‘ We know that alcohol is the third largest risk factor for disability and disease, and the biggest risk factor for death, ill-health and disability for people aged 15-49. Yet the UK government has yet to implement the measures needed to lower this burden of alcohol-related mortality. We need measures which address the pocket money prices alcohol is being sold at, the 24 hour availability of alcohol, and its heavy marketing.’ The alliance is calling on the government to introduce a minimum unit price,‘ which we know would reduce consumption and in doing so, the attendant harm’, said Gilmore.

A new lottery-funded website, Bereaved through Alcohol and Drugs( BEAD), has now been launched by Adfam and Cruse. The site aims to be a‘ source of information, support and hope’, and includes practical information, first-person accounts and other resources.‘ For most of us, bereavement will be the most distressing experience we will ever face,’ say the organisations, but the death of a loved one through alcohol and drugs can involve additional anguish through issues like stigma, shame and isolation.

Meanwhile, the latest Department for Transport figures show an increase in drink-driving casualties and no improvement in drink driving-related deaths since the beginning of the decade. There were 8,480 drink-drive casualties in 2015 – 3 per cent up on the previous year – along with around 220 deaths.

Campaigners have long been calling for the government to lower the drink-drive limit in England and Wales in line with other European countries.‘ The government have taken their eye off the ball, and need to listen to the overwhelming evidence that a lower drink driving limit would save lives and improve road safety,’ said senior research and policy officer at the Institute of Alcohol Studies, Jon Foster.‘ There is huge professional and public support for this.’

Alcohol-related deaths in the UK registered in 2015 at www. ons. gov. uk. Reported road casualties in Great Britain: estimates for accidents involving illegal alcohol levels 2015 at www. gov. uk. BEAD website at www. beadproject. org. uk

CALL CONCERNS

THE NSPCC HELPLINE has received 25,000 contacts raising concerns over substance use near children over the last three years, the charity has stated – an average of almost one call per hour. The number of annual contacts has increased by 16 per cent since 2013 / 14, and the agency has made more than 20,000 referrals to external agencies such as the police and children’ s services.‘ Drug and alcohol abuse can have hugely damaging effects around children, and it’ s clearly troubling to see a rise over time in reports of this problem to our helpline,’ said NSPCC chief executive Peter Wanless.‘ Substance misuse all too often leads to the neglect or abuse of a child and it’ s absolutely crucial that we do all we can to stop that.’

MONITORING THE MONITOR

PHE IS LOOKING FOR FEEDBACK on how National Drug Treatment Monitoring System( NDTMS) management reports are being used, and whether they are‘ still fit for purpose’ in the current operating environment. Consultation available at https:// surveys. phe. org. uk / NDTMS _ reporting _ consultation _ 2017 # until 31 March.

DRUG DATA

A COMPREHENSIVE ROUND-UP of new and previously published information on adult and young people’ s drug use in England has been published by NHS Digital. Statistics on drug misuse, England – 2017 includes figures from ONS, NDTMS, crime surveys and more. Around one in 12 people had taken an illicit drug in the last year, it says. Document at www. gov. uk

COSTS OF A DRINK

THE FIRST MANIFESTO to help the estimated 2.5m children of heavy drinkers has been launched by the All Party Parliamentary Group( APPG) on Children of Alcoholics. The document calls on the government to develop a national strategy alongside properly funded local support, improved education and training for professionals, and better awareness raising for children. Children of alcoholics are twice as likely as other children to have problems at school, three times more likely to consider suicide and four times more likely to become alcoholics themselves, says A manifesto for change. Document at liambyrne. co. uk

PRISON PROMISES

THE GOVERNMENT has published its‘ landmark’ prison and courts bill, which it says will pave the way for the‘ biggest overhaul of prisons in a generation’. The bill‘ underpins’ measures in the prison reform white paper( DDN, December 2016, page 5), setting in law for the first time that‘ a key purpose’ of prisons is to reform, as well as punish, offenders. Prison governors will‘ take control’ of budgets for health, education and employment, the government says,( DDN, June 2016, page 5), and‘ will be held to account’ for getting people off drugs and into work. Recent figures showed that deaths, suicides and assaults in the prison system all reached record numbers last year( DDN, February, page 4). Prison and courts bill at http:// services. parliament. uk / bills / 2016- 17 / prisonsandcourts. html

De Lima has conducted investigations into Duterte’ s involvement in extra judicial killings.

PHONY WAR

HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH( HRW) is calling on authorities in the Philippines to drop‘ politically motivated’ charges against senator Leila de Lima, one of the few lawmakers openly critical of president Duterte’ s violent‘ war on drugs’. Charges have been filed against de Lima for alleged violations of the country’ s drug laws, and if convicted she faces between 12 years and life in prison. De Lima has previously conducted investigations into Duterte’ s involvement in extrajudicial killings and links to death squads. HRW has also issued a report claiming that Philippine police are‘ routinely’ killing drug suspects in cold blood then falsifying evidence by planting drugs, guns and ammunition at the scene. License to kill: Philippine police killings in Duterte’ s‘ war on drugs’ at www. hrw. org

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