As the three main parties put together their manifestos for next year’s general election, drug and alcohol charity
Addactionis urging them to formulate policies that will help people not just with substance dependence but “harmful and hazardous drinking”.
“This is a major public health issue and we are sleepwalking into a significant problem,” says Simon Antrobus, chief executive of Addaction, the UK’s leading addiction charity.
“We are seeing a growing number of younger people with significant liver damage, at a huge cost to peoples’ lives and to the NHS.”
Alcohol misuse also has a marked impact on the criminal justice system.
A major survey commissioned by Addaction has revealed that almost all UK prisons are ineffective in dealing with alcohol-related criminal behaviour.
The
Alcohol and Crime Commissionsurveyed prisoners across England and found that, while many will be abstinent during their sentence, there is little support to help them understand what part alcohol played in their offending.
A lack of support on release means that many return to a life of crime with alcohol again playing a key part.
70% of prisoners surveyed admitted they had been drinking when they committed the offence for which they were incarcerated. 76% were aware of alcohol related support within the prison itself, but only 40% had been informed about support available upon release.
But it isn’t just prisoners who have developed unhealthy and dangerous relationships with alcohol.
Addactionruns services for all sorts of people with drug or alcohol problems, including with families and young people, at more than 100 locations across the country. Those include both community-based projects and residential facilities.
It also works in the home setting and conducts outreach work to encourage people to get help.
“In terms of substance misuse, the family can be part of the solution or part of the problem, but it is critical to work with the whole family for continued and consolidated recovery. There is also intergenerational cycle of addiction. A child of addicted parents is seven times more likely to become addicted themselves – we need to break that cycle of addiction,” says Antrobus.
“Addaction is seeing an increasing number of people, and there has been a shift from being very much focused on drug treatment to increasingly seeing challenges with alcohol.
“We want to address alcohol-fuelled crime, but also binge drinking and harmful and hazardous drinkers.
“A considerable number of people who will be drinking considerably over the government-recommended level - they are storing up trouble for themselves, potentially working toward dependency.
“But we have seen if you give them a brief intervention, a short course of information and support, you can address that pattern of behaviour and help people think about their alcohol consumption.”
Addactionworks with the NHS, local authorities and other charities to provide support. Business is also involved – a £1m project with Asda funds a support programme run from Addaction services in Barnsley, Cornwall and Liverpool.
Work with local authorities also encompasses the government’s Troubled Families programme.
“We know that about 60% of what the government defines as troubled families will have problem with alcohol,” explains Antrobus.
We are increasing and improving and developing the offer to adults so it becomes a family offer and we work with the whole family
“We were also predominantly working with PCTs, but a lot of the funding we work in is public health and that is now controlled by local authorities.
“Clinical Commissioning Groups potentially could have a role around alcohol but in our experience they seem to be less engaged.
“This is a huge, untapped opportunity because CCGs have access to a huge number of patients who need help – and it is not just about dependent drinkers but the larger group of those who drink to damaging levels.”
Antrobus praises both the last Labour government and the coalition for their investment in drug addiction programmes, but says a new focus on alcohol is now needed.
“We need to get a grip on this country’s relationship with alcohol. What we really need is a bold step from politicians. We need a minimum unit price for alcohol, but that is not a silver bullet. We need a properly thought-through strategy, with information, advice and education, but also adequate support and treatment for those who find themselves in a difficulty.
“Ahead of the general election, it would be brilliant if the parties could commit to do all of those things. It can’t just be about minimum unit price.”