Warnings on alcohol

Lisatho11987777

Should there be warning labels on alcohol  like there is on tablets  and tobacco  and energy drinks  alcohol damages health 

Cher_Alumni

Hi @lisathomas50

This is a great question to debate and I've moved it over to our coffee lounge for our members to come across easier

This BMJ article reveals deaths from alcohol hit a record high in the first 9 months of 2020.  A significant increase speculated as due to higher alcohol consumption during lockdown and a pause in access to treatment services, according to this Independent piece.  So positively, having warnings visible on alcohol packaging could reinforce what people already know (that alcohol carries health risks) but forget/dismiss in moments where the want to drink kicks in.  

What do you think?

Sandy_123

I totally agree, if tobacco and medication and any thing that causes addiction carry warnings, then why is alcohol omitted by that, when its addictive, ive lost loved ones because of alcohol addiction. I have a link below from liver trust.
https://britishlivertrust.org.uk/information-and-support/liver-health-2/love-your-liver/get-involved/get-involved-corporate-wellbeing/

leeCal

I think yes, there should be a warning. Alcohol is a poison after all.

Caz_Alumni

This is a big issue for debate. And it's only in recent years we've even started to talk about this a bit more. 

There's a lot of common sense in what people have already said. But realistically, I suppose the cash benefits, and the culture that we have around social drinking in the UK, have frequently been used as reasons not to take action on this.

I think that there's definitely been a shift in attitudes of late though. Particularly amongst certain demographics. And in fact, students are quite a good example of how things have changed over the decades. Though that could be down to the price of alcohol and the cost of Uni, as much as anything else.

Possibly, one option then would be for us to do as much work on reinforcing the positive messages around the short- and long-term benefits of cutting back on consumption, or even stopping altogether. So, continuing the work of the Drinkaware initiative?

In the longer-term that might have a more lasting effect. So, that's one idea maybe?

66Mustang

To me, it makes sense what everyone says on both sides to be honest. 

My current assignment for my economics is on the economic benefits and costs of imposing taxes or minimum prices on alcohol so I’m interested to follow both sides of this debate

Lisatho11987777

That seems like a good idea Mike I think people need to understand the damage alcohol causes and can cause death people think being dependent on alcohol  is drinking all day every day but it isn't 

Haveing  a glass or couple of glasses of wine every day amounts to the same thing  and can overtime cause damage people think its not true untill they try and miss one day 

MarkM88

Username_removed said:

The latter is easy to get around and yet the shops have the tech to enforce it. The point of sale tech combined with the data from your card payment means that shops could limit you to the purchase of say 4 cans or 1 bottle and then prevent you buying the same within say a 20 mile radius in the next 72 hours. 

I fully agree with the restrictions. It would make a lot of sense. Although not everyone pays by card and could bounce from shop to shop with cash. 

bg844

I agree partly. Not going to lie I do enjoy a nice cold bottle of Moretti here and there (I usually drink about 5 of the big bottles every week which isn’t even 1 a day), but I know what alcohol has done to some family members and their lives. It doesn’t just have an impact on them but on everyone. I once lent my aunt some money to pay back debt all driven up by Alcohol. Thank god there’s services in this country for people. I think they shouldn’t limit but on the bottles they should post a nice message asking people to be thoughtful of others and possibly TV adverts. 

vikingqueen

    You could put as many warnings on alcohol as is humanly possible it won't stop an alcoholic from abstaining. Neither could you put restrictions on buying it. An addict will always find a way.

bg844

100% @vikingqueen

Lisatho11987777

There are interesting  views  what are your ideas on how to cut down on alcohol?  At the moment I am involved in a campaign to cut alcohol down 

There are children as young as ten drinking and dependent on alcohol 

Alcohol has an affect on people's lives it can cause debt homelessness,  crime  violence  and eventually death 

vikingqueen

     I lived with an alcoholic for 16 years and my brother was a drunk, there is a difference believe it or not, neither wanted to cut down, it killed them both eventually. I really don't know the answer to helping people caught up in this illness. Some people know too much is bad for you others don't care. I suppose it has to start by educating children while they are young, but children copy what they see so if the parents are doing it then they probably think it's ok.

   

Lisatho11987777

@bg844 it's people's choice to drink and how much they drink and I am mot trying to be rude but in your comment you said you drink 5 large bottles of alcohol  a day that is still alot of alcohol a week  and could possibly be damaging your liver please don't tske offence 

Do you think there is enough help for people who have a drink problem you mentioned about your family and you said you were glad there was help out there but do you think there is enough ?

vikingqueen

     bg844 said 5 large bottles a week not a day @lisathomas50

Lisatho11987777

@Cher_Scope only just read your comment  there is a record  high in figures what they dint tell you is how many of those are children  I think that labels should be put on alcohol  I also think there should be more advertisements  on how alcohol can damage your health and the pain it can cause 

I think that there should be more help people turn to drink for lots of reasons and it's the reasons they drink that they need help with and if people had the sort of help they need if they had the urge to drink they had help at the end of the phone and if need be people to come out 

Drs and police can have orders put on people to stop them buying alcohol In there local area which sometimes works but I think if more things were put in place to help people  and I think there should be stronger laws put in for people who supply children with alcohol 

As you said  people drinking has risen since the pandemic some are new drinkers 

Alot of people I know have died from the damage of alcohol  some as young as 12 some people go beyond help once the stomach starts extending when your drinking because the liver isn't working properly anymore and their skin goes yellow and they are in constant pain 

People are told that the next drink could be their last one they are offered liver transplants as long as they have help and support to stop drinking and that they don't drink after they have a new liver its not only the liver though it can be the kidneys that give up but either are life threatening 

Some people think that alcoholics shouldn't have transplants because they have done it to there self  but again if thete were more dupirt and they could get to the root of why they drink to the pont of potential damage to their self that alot of it could be slowed down 

As I have said on this thread  been an alcoholic isn't about drinking until your on the floor its about being dependent on alcohol  haveing one or two drinks a day I know alot of women come home from work and have a glass of wine  which a friend of mine used to do she said she could go without so I picked her up from work and took her out within three hours she said she didn't feel right that her stomach was hurting her hands were shaking and she wanted a glass of wine 

We went to the pub and she had a small glass of wine which stopped all the symptoms she was haveing it scared her and she went for help she no longer drinks but it took a whilst 

The AA are over whelmed they need more help groups they need more sponsors to be there on the end of the phone to come and see them when they have the urge I am involved in a campaign formed by my friend and two other women my friend helped 

There should be more campaigns to get more help put in place  

I am an alcoholic who hasn't had a drink since the age of 18  I drank from the age of 16 I was found face down in a puddle of water when I collapsed I was helped by a passer by who phoned an ambulance 

Whilst at the hospital I was also found to be pregnant I was 6months didn't know who the father was I stopped drinking they had to wean me off because my baby was also dependent on alcohol thankfully we both came through it 

Lisatho11987777

Mike I disagree alcohol is in addiction  the same as drugs when you try and stop they have the same affects shaking vomiting cramps and pain  if you have a drink it all stops so yes it's an addiction your body is dependent on alcohol 

Lisatho11987777

@vikingqueen it's still over the level to cause damage 

vikingqueen

     Didn't say it wasn't, just correcting you.

Lisatho11987777

@vikingqueen sorry I see where you think I was wrong I meant a day over five days that they drink 

Caz_Alumni

This is a really important thread and it raises a number of issues. To me, there's no easy solution and there's no single right way to try and tackle the problems that drinking can cause. I suppose it depends on whether we view the problem as being one of individual responsibility, or collective social responsibility, or indeed both. 

Just doing a bit of online reading, I did come across a website, Alcohol Change UK, with links to some interesting research that's been carried out recently and which touches on some of the points that people have already made. 

There's a report on alcohol labelling, called Drinking in the Dark, and also a report on the Office for National Statistics' recent figures on alcohol-specific deaths. Both of which make sobering reading. And that's not a pun. 

Also, given the nature of the conversation, I did just want to add in a link to the NHS webiste on Alcohol Support, just in case anybody is concerned that they might be experiencing an issue around alcohol. If you are at all worried about this issue, then please do seek some support.