§ Sue DoughtyTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to reduce the waiting time for treatment for alcohol abuse; and if he will make a statement. [79375]
§ Ms BlearsData on waiting times for alcohol treatment are not collected centrally as a matter of routine.
The Cabinet Office Strategy Unit and the Department of Health are currently conducting a joint consultation exercise on the national alcohol harm reduction strategy. The consultation exercise will run until 15 January 2003 and the strategy itself is due to be published in Summer 2003. The consultation exercise will seek the views of a wide range of stakeholders on a broad spectrum of alcohol misuse issues, including alcohol treatment. Copies are available in the Library or at: www.strategy.gov.uk/2002/alcohol/consultationdoc.shtml or, www.doh.gov.uk/alcohol/alcoholstrategy.htm
§ Sue DoughtyTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many deaths from alcohol abuse of(a) women and (b) men there were in each year from 1997 to 2001. [79376]
§ Ms BlearsInformation collected centrally about the cause of deaths does not systematically record whether a death is attributable to alcohol misuse. A number of health and lifestyle factors can contribute to diseases such as cancer, stroke and coronary heart disease, and it can be difficult to isolate alcohol consumption as the most important of these factors.
A research review commissioned by the Department in 1997 concluded that between 5,000 and 40,000 deaths are attributable to alcohol misuse each year in England and Wales.