• Problems
• How We Help
• Treatment
• Fast Help
• Family Intervention
• Secondary Care
• Accommodation
• Rehab Costs

Alcohol Addiction in the UK

Alcohol is a social drink that has been enjoyed by different cultures all over the world for thousands of years. It is a sedative hypnotic drug that depresses the central nervous system and causes a number of effects to those that consume it. These effects depend on the amount of alcohol drunk with small amounts relaxing people making them more lively and talkative. Larger amounts of alcohol can produce slurred speech and a loss of co-ordination, leaving the user unsteady on their feet when standing or walking. It can also effect a person’s judgement and attention and make them feel tired and drowsy. There are depressive effects produced by alcohol too which can cause a mixture of good and bad emotions.

Alcohol consumption though, is currently responsible for more damage to people’s health than all other drugs put together in Great Britain, and costs the NHS millions of pounds every year. It is also thought to be responsible for an increase in crime including anti-social behaviour, vandalism, assaults and even murder. This is almost certainly because of the impairment caused to a persons’ judgement and actions.

The Department of Health’s guidelines for safe drinking is 2 – 3 units of alcohol a day for women and 3 – 4 units of alcohol a day for men. A unit of alcohol is comparable to half a pint of medium strength lager, a single measure of a spirit or a glass of wine. It is thought that almost 15% of women and 20% of men in this country regularly drink more than their recommended units.

Alcohol is drunk moderately by most people in Great Britain who enjoy it in a social environment; but some people become addicted to the drink and have been doing so since its creation.

There are a number of indicators which can signal whether someone is becoming dependant on alcohol and its effects with the most obvious being a strong impulse to drink. They will start to organise their lifestyle around drinking and develop a lack of self-control to the amount of alcohol they consume and how often they use it. Some people will even start drinking immediately after waking to avoid the feelings of alcohol withdrawal.