- Jersey still has one of the highest levels of alcohol consumption in the world
- A report showed that the average Islander consumes more than people from most countries
- Health Minister Andrew Green says it is ‘unacceptable’ and warned of legislation
- Would making alcohol more expensive help tackle Jersey’s drinking problem?
LEVELS of drinking in Jersey are still ‘unacceptable’, the Health Minister has said, after it emerged that alcohol consumption per capita in the Island remains among the highest in the world.
Senator Andrew Green said that if necessary the States would introduce legislation such as minimum pricing to curb Islanders’ alcohol intake but stressed that he would rather people changed their behaviour voluntarily.
He made the comments after a report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development found that the average annual intake equivalent to pure alcohol per person across its 34 member countries was 9.1 litres.
Jersey’s alcohol intake, which was not included on the list, was reported as being at 12.7 litres in 2012.
In the OECD report, which also uses figures from 2012 or the nearest year, Austria, Estonia and France reported the highest consumption of alcohol a year, with 12 litres or more per adult a year.
Commenting on the figures, Senator Green said: ‘It is unacceptable.
‘Some people are drinking to such levels they are harming their health.
‘I would rather people voluntarily change their behaviour rather than taking action as a government. But as a government we might have to advise people on that. If necessary we will bring in legislation.’
Figures show that around 13 per cent of Jersey women – around 5,000 – are regularly drinking at levels that are deemed to be hazardous to their health, which is more than two to three units of alcohol a day.
Meanwhile, one in five Island men – around 7,000 – are exceeding their recommended maximum of three to four daily units.
Senator Green said: ‘I think we need to find solutions and reduce the amount of drinking in Jersey. We have clear evidence that alcohol causes high hospital admissions. We also know that we have high levels of liver disease. We clearly have a problem.’
Although the minister said that it was pleasing to see that latest evidence from a health survey showed that young Islanders were experimenting with alcohol at a later age than previously, he said more needed to be done and that he hoped the Island’s Alcohol and Licensing strategy, which was unveiled last year, would help tackle the issues.
Among the priorities in the strategy is a commitment to review alcohol pricing in the Island. The minister said that minimum pricing might be a form of the legislation that the States might consider in the future but he was awaiting a judgment from the European Court of Justice.
The potential legal block comes after the Scotch Whisky Association argued that new laws introduced by the Scottish parliament to set a minimum price of 50p per unit breached European laws.
Martin Knight, head of health improvement at Jersey’s Health Department, said that minimum pricing might be the way forward.
‘From a public health perspective there is really good, strong evidence that bringing in a pricing strategy, which increases the price on cheaper alcohol, can have a good effect, he said.’
Mr Knight added that he was ‘not surprised’ by the findings of the OECD report.
‘As a report it helps to add additional weight and awareness of the harm that alcohol causes the community,’ he said. ‘It highlights that there is concern across Europe and the UK.
‘It suggests that we should be equally, if not more, be concerned, as we have data that shows our levels of drinking are higher than average.’
- In 2010 there was a rate of 2,065 admissions per 100,000 admissions to Jersey General Hospital which were attributable to alcohol at an estimated cost to the hospital of £2m per year. This is above the average rate of 1,898 admissions in England. This puts Jersey 3rd highest for English regions, only behind the North East and North West
- There are on average 307 years of life lost every year due to premature death from alcohol in Jersey. Alcohol accounts for around 2% of all deaths in our Island
- Jersey experiences 30-50% more deaths than would be expected from chronic liver disease when compared with England and Wales. Most, but not all cases of chronic liver disease are caused by excessive alcohol consumption
- Addiction: It is hard to gauge the true extent of addiction but recent surveys in Jersey suggest that at least 5% to 12% of people have some issues with hazardous alcohol consumption. 14% of people report having a feeling of guilt or regret after drinking and the same proportion have been unable to remember what happened the night before. It is estimated that approximately 4,000 people in Jersey are dependent on alcohol[/breakout]
