The temperance society? The need to transform the UK's drinking habits

From Future of Local Services to the Public

Contents 1 Summary 2 Impacts 3 Relevance 4 References 5 Links

Summary

The rate of excessive alcohol consumption in Britain has grown rapidly in recent years and looks set to continue. The costs of alcohol abuse to the health service are estimated at around £1.7bn a year, to policing and public order at around £7bn a year, and to lost workplace productivity c. £6bn a year. In addition there are many unquantifiable social impacts of alcohol abuse.

The increase in alcohol consumption is driven by the rapid growth of the night-time economy, cheap alcohol and higher disposal income among the young. The growing burden on public services may lead to calls to curb consumption through regulation and state intervention.

Impacts

The economy:

• Lost productivity in the workplace, days taken as sick leave and mental health problems.
• Reluctance of companies and firms to set up business in areas with a bad reputation.
• Resistance to improving area liveability where there is drunken anti-social behaviour (ASB).
• Depreciating property values as consumers and prospective buyers are put off by ASB, criminal damage, noise pollution and a general poor reputation for law and order.

Society:

• Huge financial burden for the public sector, particularly in terms of health, policing and criminal justice, and the social services.
• School achievement, socialisation and life chances will be affected by alcohol consumption among underage teenagers.
• Considerable strain placed on families coping with consumption among parents as well as children, particularly those on lower incomes.
• The costs of cleaning up city-centres may continue to rise as the devastation caused by the night-time drinking economy grows in scale.
• The knock-on effects of these on tourism.

• However, the boom in the night-time economy could improve previously run-down regional town-centres.
• Temperance societies, vigilantes and pressure groups, as well as non-alcoholic social venues (such as restaurants) might emerge.

Relevance

• Calls for the alcohol consumption to be curbed through regulation and state intervention.
• The credibility of the political system could be seriously undermined as alcohol dependency comes to permeate society.
• The policing and hospital treatment associated with the night-time economy might be increasingly outsourced to specialist private security firms and niche private health providers.
• Through town planning controls, drinking establishments might be clustered in carefully monitored urban zones where excesses of behaviour can be mitigated.
• Greater controls might be imposed on the drinks industry.
• Public communications might contain constructive messages about the positive alternatives to heavy, irresponsible drinking, as opposed to labouring the risks.

References

Links

Sigma Scan (2006) Booze Britain: A national obsession gets out of hand, ID 81