Alcohol Misuse

'Excessive alcohol misuse in the community and the social and economic consequences that result.'

Alcohol misuse can be defined as "the use of alcohol such as to damage or threaten to damage the health or social adjustment of the user, or those persons directly affected by his or her drinking." (http://hcna.radcliffe-oxford.com/alcoholmisuse.htm). Alcohol misuse has great effects on the community as it is associated with poor health, crime, disorder and social and economic harms. The UK has some of the "most serious issues associated with alcohol misuse." (http://www.go-ne.gov.uk/gone/docs/communitysafety/alcohol_misuse.pdf).

Over Ј20 billion a year is the figure known as the cost of alcohol misuse to society. There are three times more alcohol-related deaths than drug-related deaths in the UK each year. Female drinkers, aged 18-24, are drinking in larger quantities, and more frequently, than their male counterparts. Nationally, there are 1.2 million incidents of alcohol-related violence each year. Approximately 3.8 million people in England and Wales are dependent on alcohol. (http://www.go-ne.gov.uk/gone/docs/communitysafety/alcohol_misuse.pdf).

Some examples of the most common unfortunate health effects alcohol misuse has on the body are as follows; liver cirrhosis and liver cancer, mouth, throat, gullet and breast cancer, high blood pressure and related conditions such as heart and kidney disease, and stroke, complications in pregnancy and infancy, mental illness, suicide, epilepsy and damage to the nervous system, accidents and violence. (http://www.archive.official-documents.co.uk/document/cm43/4386/4386-09.htm).

There are numerable social consequences which result from excessive alcohol misuse and these are as follows; acquaintance rape or date rape, domestic violence when a spouse/partner drinks and becomes violent.

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