Alcohol proposals for London
Seventy-five thousand alcohol-related crimes occur in London every year

This is one of the problems faced by our capital city highlighted in the recently published Proposals for a London Agenda for Action on Alcohol, a consultation document prepared by the Greater London Alcohol and Drug Alliance (GLADA) and the London Health Observatory. In his introduction the Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, says: "When I became mayor I consulted widely on priorities to make London a safer, healthier and fairer city. I was convinced by an argument that the GLA (Greater London Authority), working in partnership with other agencies, could make a significant impact on reducing the level of alcohol related harm in the capital."

Data quoted from the London Household Survey indicate that, of Londoners who drink in excess of 1-2 units a day at least once a week, in the last twelve months:

  • Just under half (47.2 per cent) have felt very drunk after drinking alcohol. One in ten (10.4 per cent) had felt very drunk on more than ten occasions.

  • Over a quarter (26 per cent) had felt they had no control over what happened to them. One in forty had felt they had no control as a result of alcohol on more than ten occasions.

  • A third (33.4 per cent) had been unable, after drinking alcohol, to remember what happened the night before, with 1 in 25 Londoners suffering such memory loss on more than ten occasions.

  • Twenty-three per cent had got into a heated argument during or after drinking alcohol, more than one in twenty (5.9 per cent) had got into a fight, 2.6 per cent had damaged property that did not belong to them and 3.2 per cent had taken something that did not belong to them.

A study carried out in Camden and Islington and quoted in the Proposals looked at those attending Accident and Emergency departments after being assaulted in a public place (as opposed to in the home or at work). The vast majority of these victims were male and under 35; 50 per cent attended A&E between the hours of 10 p.m. and 4 a.m., with a peak at midnight; 54 per cent of the incidents occurred on Fridays and at the weekend. The Proposals point out that "alcohol consumption contributes significantly to the volume of injuries in London".

Total expenditure on alcohol in London is estimated to be £4.6 billion per annum. More than half the consumption is beer or cider. A quarter is drunk as wine and the rest is accounted for as spirits. Frequency and consumption patterns differ markedly across gender, age, and ethnic groups. The cost of alcohol to London includes £0.61 billion for direct deaths and £1.24 billion for indirect deaths. Alcohol abuse also results in additional costs for the NHS: something in the region of £50 million, including such things as GP consultations, inpatient admissions, A&E attendances, and ambulance transportation.

The cost of alcohol related crime in London is estimated to be £1,282 million.

The Proposals give an estimate of the cost of alcohol related absenteeism to business. This is based on relative absence levels of people with alcohol problems compared to the average and gives a result of 1.68 million working days a year – a cost to London of over £294 million.

The proposed objectives for the London Agenda for Action on Alcohol are:

  • Reduce alcohol-related crime, disorder and nuisance on the streets of the capital. One suggested way of achieving this is to establish a London standard for venues licensed to serve alcohol. It is also proposed to develop a public awareness campaign to challenge attitudes, particularly to binge drinking and violence. The question is asked as to whether drinking alcohol should be banned on public transport and in public places.

  • Promoting workplace alcohol policies. This could include training managers, establishing employee assistance programmes, the promotion of alternatives to alcohol for after-hours socialising.

  • Protecting children and young people in London from alcohol-related harm and ill heath. A study of the feasibility of a London-wide proof of age scheme is suggested and opinions on the possibility of reducing the legal age for the purchase of alcohol to 16 from 18 are sought. A further proposal is the promotion of alcohol prevention to all mainstream youth support services using best practice in the prevention of misuse among young people.

  • Increase knowledge and understanding of alcohol use and its impact in London. Pointing out that "accurate and comprehensive information to measure alcohol-related harm in the capital is not easily available", the proposals suggest that "Londonwide agencies collaborate to develop our knowledge, understanding and intelligence about alcohol and alcohol-related harm in the capital".

  • Influence changes in national policy to reduce alcohol-related harm in London. Among the suggestions are lobbying for the lowering of the permitted level of Blood Alcohol Content when driving to 50mg per 100ml of blood "in line with the European Union proposals for harmonisation between member states; highlighting 'concerns to government about [the] level of alcohol-related violence and threatening behaviour experienced by London ambulance staff, A&E nurses, police and other public sector workers so it is reflected as [a] priority in the forthcoming national alcohol strategy'; ensuring that the national alcohol-harm reduction strategy provides for appropriate levels of local investment in alcohol services to meet the demand for treatment for problem alcohol users and associated services – as well as providing funds for research to build the evidence base for effective interventions to reduce alcohol-related harm"; and lobbying for the inclusion of action to reduce alcohol-related harm and ill health in national health improvement policy.