Drug education charity calls for change of attitude towards alcohol

Hope UK is calling for a change of attitude towards alcohol after a study out last week claimed it was “more harmful than crack, heroin and ecstasy”.

The study, co-authored by the sacked government drugs adviser Professor David Nutt, ranked 20 drugs according to the harm they did to users and wider society.

While heroin, crack and crystal meth were the most harmful to users, scientists concluded that alcohol, heroin and crack cocaine were the most harmful to society – with alcohol the most harmful out of these three.

The study looked at the effect of the drugs on the physical and mental health of users, crime rates, “family adversities”, economic costs, and “international damage”.

The study concluded that the government’s drug classification system seemed to have “little relation to the evidence of harm”.

Marolin Watson, Business Manager at Christian drug education charity Hope UK, backed Prof Nutt’s findings, saying that alcohol was causing more health, social, economic and interpersonal problems because it was legal and widely used.

She voiced concern over new statistics from Alcohol Concern showing a 32% rise in the number of under-18s admitted to hospital because of excessive drinking between 2002 and 2007.

Ms Watson said: “Sadly, it is not just adults who suffer.

“A change of attitude toward our favourite drug is long overdue and it may be that more people need to consider the alcohol-free option in order to redress the balance and demonstrate that a full life is possible without alcohol.

“We owe it to children.”