HC Deb 26 May 1971 vol 818 cc350-3

  1. 1. A programme of studies of violence and the misuse of alcohol including comparative studies of psychological and social characteristics of various categories of offenders, with special reference to violent and chronic drunken offenders, is being conducted in the Department of Psychiatry at Edinburgh University.
  2. 2. The Department of Criminal Law and Criminology at Edinburgh University is conducting a research project on homicides, part of which includes a study of the state of drunkenness of the aggressor and the victim.
  3. 3. The Departments of Psychiatry and Criminal Law and Criminology at Edinburgh University are conducting a study of the circumstances of crimes of violence tried before the High Court in 1969.
  4. 4. The Institute for the Study and Treatment of Delinquency has initiated a project to study crimes of violence in Glasgow which will include the collection of information on the extent to which the consumption of alcohol was a factor in the assaults.

The second project receives financial support from the Social Sciences Research Council and the others from the Scottish Home and Health Department.

11. Mr. Eadie

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what are the age groups, for males and females, at which there is the greatest incidence of alcoholism; what is the number of deaths as a result in those age groups; and what relationship that number bears to the five most lethal diseases.

Mr. Edward Taylor

Statistics on the incidence of alcoholism in Scotland are not available. The rate of admission to hospital with a diagnosis of alcoholism is highest in the 35–44 and 45–54 age groups for both men and women. Deaths in Scotland from alcoholism and alcoholic cirrhosis of the liver are very much fewer than from any of the five most common causes of death; I shall publish details in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

Mr. Eadie

I thank the hon. Gentleman for that answer. Would he agree that inadequate research facilities are available to find out the incidence of alcoholic disease in Scotland? For example, is he aware that medical opinion is fast reaching the conclusion that death from alcoholic disease is rapidly reaching the top of the table in the incidence of killer diseases?

Mr. Taylor

The hon. Gentleman's view is not supported by the statistics which have been published so far, but I agree that there is a problem because alcoholics are to be found in all walks

THE FIVE MOST COMMON CAUSES OF DEATH IN SCOTLAND IN 1970
Cause All Ages 0- 5- 15- 25-
Males
Ischaemic heart disease (I.C.D. 410–414) 9,909 — — 2 26
Malignant neoplasms (I.C.D. 140–209). 6,763 23 30 47 61
Cerebrovascular disease (I.C.D. 430–438) 3,819 8 — 8 21
Bronchitis, emphysema, asthma (I.C.D. 490–493) 2,137 — 4 5 4
Pneumonia (I.C.D. 480–486) 1,440 147 9 6 10
Females
Ischaemic heart disease (I.C.D. 410–414) 7,641 — — 4 6
Cerebrovascular disease (I.C.D. 430–438) 6,131 3 1 7 16
Malignant neoplasms (I.C.D. 140–209) 5,857 13 23 25 68
Pneumonia (I.C.D. 480–486) 1,604 110 9 7 11
Other forms of heart disease (I.C.D. 420–429) 1,337 — — 3 2
Cause 35- 45- 55- 65- 75
Males
Ischaemic heart disease (I.C.D. 410–414) 232 995 2,519 3,241 2,894
Malignant neoplasms (I.C.D. 140–209) 193 634 1,874 2,409 1,492
Cerebrovascular disease (I.C.D. 430–438) 49 150 570 1,236 1,777
Bronchitis, emphysema, asthma (I.C.D. 490–493) 19 107 486 875 637
Pneumonia (I.C.D. 480–486) 19 40 152 345 712
Females
Ischaemic heart disease (I.C.D. 410–414) 55 256 1,010 2,175 4,135
Cerebrovascular disease (I.C.D. 430–438) 48 205 540 1,524 3,787
Malignant neoplasms (I.C.D. 140–209). 209 674 1,324 1,719 1,802
Pneumonia (I.C.D. 480–486) 18 44 96 290 1,019
Other forms of heart disease (I.C.D. 420–429) 11 29 77 261 954
DEATHS DUE TO ALCOHOLISM AND ALCOHOLIC CIRRHOSIS OF LIVER IN SCOTLAND
Cause All Ages 0- 5- 15- 25-
Males
Alcoholism (I.C.D. 303) 45 — — 1 1
Cirrhosis of liver (alcoholic) (I.C.D. 571.0) 18 — — — 2
Females
Alcoholism (I.C.D. 303) 9 — — — 1
Cirrhosis of liver (alcoholic) (I.C.D. 571.0) 9 — — — —
Cause 35- 45- 55- 65- 75
Males
Alcoholism (I.C.D. 303) 10 12 11 9 1
Cirrhosis of liver (alcoholic) (I.C.D. 571.0) — 5 9 2 —
Females
Alcoholism (I.C.D. 303) 3 2 2 1 —
Cirrhosis of liver (alcoholic) (I.C.D. 571.0) — 5 1 2 1
27. Mr. William Hamilton

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what percentage of male patients in mental hospitals are there because of alcoholism; and how this figure has varied in the last 20 years.

Mr. Edward Taylor

Information is not available in this form. Of the total male admissions to mental hospitals and psychiatric units, about 20 per cent. in

of life and an unknown number do not seek treatment. I share his concern about the problem of alcoholism in Scotland, and I believe that the recent campaigns by the Scottish Health Education Unit show our concern.

Following is the information:

1961 and 28 per cent. in 1970 were for alcoholism; these include a high proportion of readmissions.

Mr. Hamilton

Does not the hon. Gentleman agree that, in view of the scandalously high figures that he has given, there is something very immoral in the Tory Party accepting enormous sums of money from the brewers who put these people into mental institutions? Will he make representations to his hon. Friend sitting near him that in no circumstances will the Tory Party soil its hands wth this filthy lucre?

Mr. Taylor

The hon. Gentleman knows that I have always been a strong temperance man. But I believe that if we were to approach the problem with the jaundiced view which he has expressed we would not get results. The Government are doing things in the right way. The Scottish Health Education Unit has been conducting a campaign aimed at educating the public. This, and not abuse and misrepresentation, will bring results.