From my cold, dead, gin-soaked hands
Posted on Jun 05 2007 | Tagged as: Just no
Via Tim, this story in the Times:
Middle-class wine drinkers will be the focus of government plans to make drunkenness as socially unacceptable as smoking, The Times has learnt.
Under the plans published today, a fresh audit is to be conducted by the Government into the overall costs of alcohol abuse to society and the National Health Service.
“We want to target older drinkers, those that are maybe drinking one or two bottles of wine at home each evening,” a Whitehall source said. “They do not realise the damage they are doing to their health and that they risk developing liver disease. We are not talking here about the traditional wino.”
Costs to the NHS?
Tax year 04/05, revenue raised from alcohol (VAT and excise duty): £14billion.
NHS expenditure on alcohol related conditions 2005-06: £1.7billion, for England and Wales.
Hmm. Now, unless Scotland and Northern Ireland are causing £12bn worth of booze-related costs to the health service, I think I’ll retain control over my own liver for now.
