The ‘silent’ wine drinkers unaware of future trouble

9:59am Saturday 16th February 2013 in Local

AS more women are diagnosed with alcohol-related health problems, a Bolton GP has looked back at changes to drinking patterns over the last 50 years.

Dr Stephen Liversedge, a GP at the surgery in Darwen Road, Bromley Cross, said alcoholrelated illnesses used to be rare, but are now almost the norm.

He blamed the increase on a change in drinking habits over the past 50 years and said consuming alcohol at home and drinking wine had contributed to a rise in related health problems.

Dr Liversedge, aged 63, compared the start of his career with that of Heaton GP, Dr Tara Breslin, aged 29, and said when he started practising in the 1970s, he only saw a handful of alcohol-related cases.

But Dr Breslin said health issues relating to alcohol had always been part of her everyday workload.

The pair want to encourage people to limit the amount they are drinking at home and say large numbers of affluent people are consuming several glasses of wine at home after work and may be unaware that they are drinking double or triple the recommended daily intake.

They want people to have alcohol-free days and cut the number of units they are drinking each week.

Dr Liversedge said: “Back in the 1950s, drinking at home was a rare event. Men went to pubs, but there were stringent licensing laws with pubs and offlicences and you couldn’t buy alcohol from supermarkets.

“A big change was people, especially women, drinking at home.”

Dr Breslin added: “We find people are going home and having a glass of wine and are doing that regularly and don’t see it is being harmful to their health. They are never intoxicated and they are drinking with food.

“People associate too much alcohol with binge drinking but it is the silent group who are at home and who just don’t see it because they are at home.”

Comments (8)

10:22am Sat 16 Feb 13

boddingtons101 says...

Ho ho ho. Welcome to the real world. Unfortunately we don't live in the 1950's anymore. Apparently people are also using these nasty things called DRUGS and VIOLENCE and KNIVES these days. Catch up with life and you might JUST see what it is about.Though I doubt it, living in your cloistered world.
Ho ho ho. Welcome to the real world. Unfortunately we don't live in the 1950's anymore. Apparently people are also using these nasty things called DRUGS and VIOLENCE and KNIVES these days. Catch up with life and you might JUST see what it is about.Though I doubt it, living in your cloistered world. boddingtons101

10:42am Sat 16 Feb 13

oftbewildered2 says...

of course 'we' are aware of the harm that excessive alcohol can do - but it is just like smoking etc. etc. - it will not happen to 'me', only to someone else. It takes the death of someone close from whatever cause to make you aware and care.
of course 'we' are aware of the harm that excessive alcohol can do - but it is just like smoking etc. etc. - it will not happen to 'me', only to someone else. It takes the death of someone close from whatever cause to make you aware and care. oftbewildered2

10:44am Sat 16 Feb 13

Citizen Cane says...

As ever a minority of fools with addiction issues spoil it for the decent majority.

As for Dr Liversedge claiming that alcohol related illnesses are "almost the norm" (did he really say that or has he been misquoted?), then he'd better be able to back that up with respected independent research as it is almost certainly a wholly misleading statement.

Apart from which, doctors are often considered to be an occupational grouping that tends to have alcohol issues. A BMA report suggested that 7% of doctors have alcohol or drug dependency issues at some point and many studies point to a greater prevalance in the medical profession compared to the general population. At this level it would hardly be right to say that excessive use leading to serious health issues is "almost the norm" - it remains the foolish minority. I hope that Dr Liversedge is more accurate in his diagnoses and prescribing than in his application of statistics.

The brutal truth is that medicine remains an "imprecise" science with much that remains primitive on the treatment front eg prescribing antibiotics for viral diseases
As ever a minority of fools with addiction issues spoil it for the decent majority. As for Dr Liversedge claiming that alcohol related illnesses are "almost the norm" (did he really say that or has he been misquoted?), then he'd better be able to back that up with respected independent research as it is almost certainly a wholly misleading statement. Apart from which, doctors are often considered to be an occupational grouping that tends to have alcohol issues. A BMA report suggested that 7% of doctors have alcohol or drug dependency issues at some point and many studies point to a greater prevalance in the medical profession compared to the general population. At this level it would hardly be right to say that excessive use leading to serious health issues is "almost the norm" - it remains the foolish minority. I hope that Dr Liversedge is more accurate in his diagnoses and prescribing than in his application of statistics. The brutal truth is that medicine remains an "imprecise" science with much that remains primitive on the treatment front eg prescribing antibiotics for viral diseases Citizen Cane

10:55am Sat 16 Feb 13

boltonnut says...

The good doctor must have vast experience,given his surname.He must be cutting it pretty close too.Hic.
The good doctor must have vast experience,given his surname.He must be cutting it pretty close too.Hic. boltonnut

1:17pm Sat 16 Feb 13

Hulton Park says...

boddingtons101 wrote:
Ho ho ho. Welcome to the real world. Unfortunately we don't live in the 1950's anymore. Apparently people are also using these nasty things called DRUGS and VIOLENCE and KNIVES these days. Catch up with life and you might JUST see what it is about.Though I doubt it, living in your cloistered world.
What a ridiculous thing to say. The doctors are clearly not cloistered - they are sayingthis is something they have to deal with on a regular basis.

Are you saying the increase in alcohol-related illness, with all its attendant social woes, not to mention the cost to the NHS, is just part of good ol' progress?
[quote][p][bold]boddingtons101[/bold] wrote: Ho ho ho. Welcome to the real world. Unfortunately we don't live in the 1950's anymore. Apparently people are also using these nasty things called DRUGS and VIOLENCE and KNIVES these days. Catch up with life and you might JUST see what it is about.Though I doubt it, living in your cloistered world.[/p][/quote]What a ridiculous thing to say. The doctors are clearly not cloistered - they are sayingthis is something they have to deal with on a regular basis. Are you saying the increase in alcohol-related illness, with all its attendant social woes, not to mention the cost to the NHS, is just part of good ol' progress? Hulton Park

1:46pm Sat 16 Feb 13

Rememberscarborough says...

This week there was a case of a women drinking 10 litres of cola a day and dying in her early thirties. Everything in excess is bad for you (even sprouts?) but there do seem to be more and more people who seem shocked that their excesses cause medical problems. Are men, women and children getting thicker or have human beings alway been this idiotic?
This week there was a case of a women drinking 10 litres of cola a day and dying in her early thirties. Everything in excess is bad for you (even sprouts?) but there do seem to be more and more people who seem shocked that their excesses cause medical problems. Are men, women and children getting thicker or have human beings alway been this idiotic? Rememberscarborough

7:25pm Sat 16 Feb 13

hmann81 says...

I know someone who has a drink problem who won't admit it. She just likes getting innocent nice people into trouble and screwing up their lives. If people wanna drink and end up ill then let them!!!
I know someone who has a drink problem who won't admit it. She just likes getting innocent nice people into trouble and screwing up their lives. If people wanna drink and end up ill then let them!!! hmann81

1:51am Sun 17 Feb 13

mr.mark.c says...

According to doctors a swift 2 pints after a hard days graft is abuse.
So there you have it, stay under the drink drive limit and all is well.
According to doctors a swift 2 pints after a hard days graft is abuse. So there you have it, stay under the drink drive limit and all is well. mr.mark.c

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