Doctors say public health campaigns on alcohol are failing
Eight out of 10 doctors and nurses believe public health campaigns to stem alcohol related problems have not been effective.
A survey of 205 medical staff by the Royal College of Physicians and the Royal College of Nursing on government policy also reveals that most believe tackling low priced alcohol should be the top priority.
The survey of gastroenterologists, hepatologists, acute physicians and nurses shows that:
- 73 per cent said action on low priced alcohol was needed to tackle alcohol related problems.
- 90 per cent believed that all alcohol products should be labelled with unit information and sensible drinking guidelines
- 71 per cent believed that greater investment in treatment services is needed
- 81 per cent thought that if alcohol was more expensive, there would be a decrease in consumption.
Professor Ian Gilmore, president of the Royal College of Physicians and chairman of the Alcohol Health Alliance, said: "While informing the public through health campaigns is important, these findings shows that front line doctors and nurses treating patients with drink problems do not believe that this enough to reverse our binge-drinking culture and must be linked to tough actions on cheap alcohol and round the clock availability."
Dr Peter Carter, chief executive and general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), said: "Nurses have said time and time again that the government must take more drastic action to tackle the growing issue of alcohol misuse.
"Better regulation of the labelling, sale and advertising of alcoholic drinks, as well as widespread education on the dangers of excessive alcohol consumption, is needed to curb this significant problem."
