UK’s alcohol problem leading to increased strain on relationships

In the UK, the misuse of alcohol is estimated to cost the NHS £3.6 billion a year. Also, crime related to alcohol in England and Wales was estimated to cost society about £11.4 billion a year.

At present, a report has suggested that an increasing number of relationships are breaking under the strain of someone drinking alcohol in excess, The Times reports.

According to the YouGov survey of 6,318 adults for Drinkaware, it was found that more than half of the 18 to 34-year-olds were reportedly affected by someone else’s drinking issues.

This age group was also found to be worst-affected.

Additionally, in the past year, four in 10 people in the UK said that they have been affected by someone else’s drinking.

Also, two-thirds of those living with housemates or friends supposedly encountered aggression and emotional and argumentative behaviour of someone they had lived with after alcohol was consumed.

Furthermore, more than one in four adults said they had been let down, hurt, had arguments, or experienced fear of being physically assaulted numerous times by the same family member or friend due to alcohol, even leading to divorce in some cases.

In the UK, there is apprehension that the cost of living and mental ill health is causing drinking problems.

Overall, 29% of people have been worried about a loved one’s drinking issues in the past year – up from 16% from the previous year.

The Drinkaware Monitor 2022 also discovered that binge drinking had gone back to pre-pandemic levels, with 63% of people now drinking excessively from time to time, this number was found to be up from 59% in 2021.

The survey also discovered that one in four drinkers consumed alcohol at home alone every week.

The participants in the survey also reportedly said that other people’s drinking problems ranged from minor to major. For example, they would either feel uncomfortable with a person at a party or could even give up work due to physical abuse or take care of an alcoholic spouse.

The study also found that ethnic minority groups were nearly twice as likely to feel physically threatened by someone with a drinking problem.

Experts are now calling for a new alcohol harm strategy, including measures to protect children and support families from violence fuelled by alcohol and for more prevention programmes to decrease the burden of alcohol on the NHS.

Chief executive of Drinkaware, Karen Tyrell is reported to have said, “We all know alcohol can be harmful to individuals, but our research shines a light on the impact it has on wider society. Alcohol can cause serious upset to others around us, damaging relationships and careers, and it’s especially worrying that other people’s drinking is hitting ethnic minorities and younger people the hardest.

“England is the only UK nation without a strategy in place to tackle the harm alcohol causes to society.”