gmb45
23rd May, 2009, 06:48 PM
hmmm good job worzel (zap) dosent live in uk.
High cost: The NHS will have to spend ?25m on dealing with binge drinkers this weekend, a think tank says
Drunks who have their stomachs pumped in hospital should be charged ?532, a report into alcohol-related harm claims.
Dealing with the effects of binge-drinking is expected to cost the NHS ?25million this Bank Holiday weekend, according to an analysis by the Policy Exchange think tank.
It says that hospitals should start recovering the costs from drinkers.
Similar arrangements are already in place to recover treatment costs from motor insurers following road accidents, the study points out.
The Policy Exchange, regarded as Britain's largest centre-right think tank, also calls for a shakeup of the way alcohol is taxed to make beers and wines with lower alcohol content cheaper than their stronger counterparts.
Medium to low strength beer, such as Brakspear bitter containing 3.4 per cent alcohol by volume, would fall in price from ?2.53 a pint to ?2.30, while Kronenbourg lager at 5 per cent ABV would rise from ?2.72 to ?2.83 and Leffe Blonde beer at 6.6 per cent ABV would cost ?3.36.
The report argues that the changes would encourage the drinks trade to reduce alcohol content slightly, reducing harm without hitting their profitability or curbing drinkers' enjoyment significantly
High cost: The NHS will have to spend ?25m on dealing with binge drinkers this weekend, a think tank says
Drunks who have their stomachs pumped in hospital should be charged ?532, a report into alcohol-related harm claims.
Dealing with the effects of binge-drinking is expected to cost the NHS ?25million this Bank Holiday weekend, according to an analysis by the Policy Exchange think tank.
It says that hospitals should start recovering the costs from drinkers.
Similar arrangements are already in place to recover treatment costs from motor insurers following road accidents, the study points out.
The Policy Exchange, regarded as Britain's largest centre-right think tank, also calls for a shakeup of the way alcohol is taxed to make beers and wines with lower alcohol content cheaper than their stronger counterparts.
Medium to low strength beer, such as Brakspear bitter containing 3.4 per cent alcohol by volume, would fall in price from ?2.53 a pint to ?2.30, while Kronenbourg lager at 5 per cent ABV would rise from ?2.72 to ?2.83 and Leffe Blonde beer at 6.6 per cent ABV would cost ?3.36.
The report argues that the changes would encourage the drinks trade to reduce alcohol content slightly, reducing harm without hitting their profitability or curbing drinkers' enjoyment significantly