Binge drinking plan 'not working'.Summary: Measures to tackle Britain's drinking problem have so far not worked, a leading doctor has said. Measures to tackle Britain's drinking problem have so far not worked, a leading doctor has said. President of the Royal College of Physicians The Royal College of Physicians of London was the first medical institution in England to receive a Royal Charter. It was founded in 1518 and is one of the most active of all medical professional organisations. , Professor Ian Gilmore, said the Government strategy on reducing harm from alcohol came at the same time as 24-hour drinking was introduced. Prof Gilmore, who is a liver specialist at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital The Royal Liverpool University Hospital is a large teaching hospital in Liverpool, England. It is part of the Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospital NHS Trust and is associated with the University of Liverpool. , said the plan "unfortunately coincided with a change in licensing laws which made it easier for places to stay open longer". Another issue was that local authorities did not have to take the potential damage to public health into account when granting licenses for bars and clubs to stay open longer. "Government strategy has not worked," he said, adding that it would be very hard to change licensing laws back again. However, Prof Gilmore said he is more optimistic op·ti·mist n. 1. One who usually expects a favorable outcome. 2. A believer in philosophical optimism. op about the future, given progress in the last year or so and he welcomed the fact the Government is looking at issues such as the deep discounting of alcohol in supermarkets. But he added: "I think at the moment the end of term report is 'could do better, a lot better'." Prof Gilmore supported a recent report from the chief medical officer, Sir Liam Donaldson Sir Liam Donaldson is the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) for England. He has held this post since 1998.[1] As the Chief Medical Officer, Donaldson holds important responsibilities across the whole field of health and health care, and he is the British government's , which called for a minimum cost of 50p per unit of alcohol. Prime Minister Gordon Brown distanced himself from the report, saying the Government did not wish to penalise Verb 1. penalise - impose a penalty on; inflict punishment on; "The students were penalized for showing up late for class"; "we had to punish the dog for soiling the floor again" penalize, punish the vast majority of sensible drinkers. Prof Gilmore said: "I think the Government thought it came at a time when it was between a rock and a hard place in terms of the financial downturn, but I don't think that should discourage us from tackling this public health problem." Prof Gilmore also said the average GP was "probably not" well equipped to deal with problem drinkers problem drinker Substance abuse A person who meets 2 of the 3 criteria in the last 12 months, for alcoholics. See Alcohol, Binge drinking. Cf Social drinker. . But he said where services were available they did work. "There are solutions to the problem," he said. "We are not just preaching doom and gloom doom and gloom n. Gloom and doom. doom  -and-gloom adj. ."
Independent Television News Limited 2009. All rights reserved. Independent Television News Limited 2009. All rights reserved. Provided by Syndigate.info an Albawaba.com company |
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