However, Senator Andrew Green said that if new legislation was to be introduced it could not be implemented in isolation and that education along with a shift in cultural attitudes needed to be considered as well.
Alcohol-related deaths in Jersey
- Between 2012 and 2014 there were 45 alcohol-related deaths in Jersey. This is similar to the period between 2009 and 2011, which saw 50 alcohol related deaths.
- Between 2012 and 2014, men accounted for 71 per cent of alcohol-related deaths.
- The most common alcohol-related death was alcoholic disease, which accounted for three-quarters of alcohol-related deaths.
The amount spent by the States on benefits due to alcohol-related sickness and ailments (including alcoholism) in 2014:
- £678,000 was paid for a total 169 claims.
- This represents a ten per cent decrease compared to 2013 when expenditure was £757,500 and is the lowest expenditure for eight years.
Alcohol-related crime
- In 2013 and 2014 61 per cent of evening street violence involved alcohol.
- There are around 300 incidents of domestic violence reported to the States police annually. Of these, 44 per cent were recorded as having alcohol involvement.[/breakout]
His comments come after the 2015 Jersey Alcohol Profile published yesterday showed that last year the average Islander drank the equivalent of 12.1 litres of pure alcohol – about 134 bottles of wine.
The figure is one of the highest in Europe.
The report also revealed that around one in four Islanders – 27 per cent – were drinking at levels that were potentially hazardous or harmful to their health.
Senator Green said the pricing, the availability of alcohol along with education and societal attitudes towards drinking all needed to be looked at if Jersey’s high drinking levels were to be improved.
‘I think we’ve got a cultural challenge in Jersey,’ he said.
‘For example, when I go to a children’s birthday party in Wales I’m offered a cup of tea and a slice of cake.
‘When it is a birthday party here it is a glass of wine.’
Senator Green added that the Shadow Alcohol and Licensing Policy Group, a panel on which he sits and that is led by the Chief Minister, was looking to other jurisdictions where they were considering introducing a minimum unit price for alcohol.
‘It is something I’m keen to explore,’ Senator Green said.
‘I don’t think we can do it in isolation. I want to understand whether it works or not.’
He said there were ‘encouraging parts to the report’, notably that fewer Islanders aged between 12 and 15 were drinking alcohol, which he attributed to education.
Jason Wyse, chief executive of the Silkworth Charity Group, which supports drug addicts and alcoholics in Jersey, said that the findings of the report compiled by the Health Intelligence Unit did not surprise him and he added that education was vital in changing Islanders’ drinking habits.
‘The awareness around alcohol issues has grown,’ he said.
‘We can’t change society with a click of the fingers, it is a generational thing and education is key.’
