Nurses: Mandatory Code Needed To Tackle Alcohol Harm, UK

Main Category: Alcohol / Addiction / Illegal Drugs
Article Date: 29 Jan 2010 - 4:00 PDT

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The Royal College of Nursing welcomed a new Department of Health campaign to combat excessive drinking as it responded to news from the Office of National Statistics that the number of deaths caused by alcohol consumption is continuing to rise.

Dr Peter Carter, Chief Executive & General Secretary of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), said:

"Nurses see the devastating consequences of alcohol misuse everyday, and have consistently warned about the hidden dangers of drinking too much. It is an absolute tragedy that every year more and more people are dying as a result of excessive drinking.

"It is vital that people are made aware of the dangers of excessive drinking through effective and widespread education initiatives such as the new campaign launched today by the Department of Health. However, education is just part of the package needed to stop people damaging their health as a result of drinking too much. Longer term solutions are needed to change the nation's historically permissive attitude towards alcohol. That is why the RCN is calling for a mandatory code which would introduce tighter regulation of the advertising, labelling and sale of alcohol.

"As we approach the general election, all parties must make a firm commitment to take drastic action to prevent more people suffering as a result of excessive drinking."

Source
Royal College of Nursing

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