§ Mr. Carter-Jonesasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is his estimate of the number of premature deaths caused by alcohol each year, the annual cost of treating alcohol-related diseases, and the cost of time lost at work due to alcohol-related diseases.
§ Sir George YoungAs clinical research suggests that alcohol may be a causative or complicating factor in a variety of organic and mental disorders, the amount of sickness and premature deaths attributable to it cannot be accurately determined.
A study by the Department's Economic Adviser's Office in 1977, which drew on the research of others on the prevalence of problem drinkers, suggested that annually, in England and Wales, there may be: between 2,300 and 4,900 premature deaths caused by alcohol—excluding deaths resulting from traffic accidents; costs incurred by the National Health Service in treating diseases attributable to alcohol consumption of between £38 million and £52 million; and costs of lost output to alcohol-related sickness absence of between £157 million and £260 million—all cost estimates at November 1977 prices.
The report of the study—The Costs of Alcohol Misuse: by S. Holtermann and A. Burchell—was published in February this year and a copy has been placed in the Library of the House. It is hoped that by its publication further research on the subject will be stimulated.