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Health Chief Slams Drink Law Changes

Posted on: Monday, 15 August 2005, 09:00 CDT

WALES'S public health boss last night said relaxed licensing laws were bad news for the nation's health.

Public Health Alliance Cymru chairman Dr Paul Walker joined police chiefs and judges in voicing concern about the legislation.

There are fears longer opening hours could see alcohol-related violence soar.

Last week North Wales's deputy chief constable Clive Wolfendale said the price of alcohol should be tripled to combat Britain's binge drinking culture.

And he branded binge drinking a bigger day-to-day challenge to police than the threat of terrorism.

Wrexham Maelor hospital consultant Aruni Sen said many patients admitted to hospitals were 'unpleasant', 'horrifically drunk' and 'abusive'.

Last night Dr Walker stepped up the row saying: 'PHA Cymru has long held the view that the new Licensing Act would lead inevitably to higher alcohol consumption causing more accidents including road traffic accidents, more violence, including domestic violence, more liver and other diseases associated with high consumption and to more anti-social behaviour.' He added: 'Up to now we have felt that we are a lone voice so it is in one way reassuring, but in another deeply worrying, that influential groups, who have direct experience of the epidemic of alcohol misuse in this country such as senior police officers and judges, hold similar views.

'As one of the judges interviewed pointed out, whereas government is taking strong action to curb smoking in the light of the evidence of the harm it causes, it seems to be recklessly oblivious to the problem of alcohol, which has a much greater adverse social impact than smoking.'

Dr Walker said local authorities now had a responsibility to safeguard the health and wellbeing of the public.

He said: 'The Licensing Act is now being implemented so we will have to live with it for a while.

'But clearly we must ensure that its impact is comprehensively monitored and that local authorities, the new licensing bodies, take whatever steps are available in the new legislation to mitigate the adverse effects on health and wellbeing.

'

This is in fact a challenge to local authorities in Wales to take their responsibilities for safeguarding the health and wellbeing of their populations, as documented in their recently published health, social care and wellbeing strategies, very seriously indeed,' he added.

According to North Wales's dedicated alcohol service specialist nurse John Sims, based at Ysbyty Gwynedd, in Bangor, alcohol misuse in its various forms costs the NHS pounds 3bn a year.

A total of 12% of NHS spending, and around 20% of hospital admissions, are alcohol related

Source: Daily Post; Liverpool

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