Alcohol: Social Effects

Excessive and inappropriate alcohol consumption at work leads to accidents, absenteeism and lost revenue .

25% people who die in road accidents have blood alcohol levels greater than 80mg per 100 mls.

40% of casualty patients had consumed alcohol before attending and 32% had a blood alcohol concentration over the legal driving limits. 30% of pedestrians sustaining injuries have blood alcohol levels of over 80mg per 100mls. In young people one third of deaths from drowning are alcohol related. It is well known that aggressive and criminal behaviour and the consumption of alcohol are linked.

Offenders have been found to be intoxicated in 30% of sexual offences, 33% of burglaries, 50% of street crime and 85% of crime in pubs and clubs. The precise nature of the link is complex and in many cases alcohol is not itself a directly causative factor but merely part of the circumstances or environment within which the criminal behaviour occurs.

Measures to reduce alcohol-related crime could include creating an environment that inhibits the escalation of violence (for example public space controls, an integrated public transport initiative etc) or contains it if it breaks out (making it a requirement for drinks to be served in toughened glass for example). Minimising binge drinking by banning drinks promotions and 'happy hours' has also been suggested.

The social cost of drinkers consuming over 50 units a week in terms of drink driving and drunkenness offences alone is estimated to be £55 million.

The BMA estimate that either the offender or victim has been drinking in 65% of homicides, 75% of stabbings, 70% of beatings and 50% of fights or domestic assaults. 58% of remand and 63% of male sentenced prisoners have severe alcohol problems in the year before being sent to prison and alcohol abuse is strongly implicated in re-offending, particularly amongst women.

30% of divorces, 40% of domestic violence and 20% of child abuse cases are associated with alcohol misuse.

Alcohol plays a significant part in teenage sexual activity. After drinking alcohol one in seven 16-24 year olds have had unsafe sex, one in five had sex they later regretted and one in ten couldn't remember if they had had sex the night before. Therefore alcohol can play a significant role in both the spread of sexually transmitted disease and unwanted pregnancy.