BMJ  2006;333:510-511 (9 September), doi:10.1136/bmj.38961.556470.BE

Editorial

Tackling alcohol misuse at the front line

Training staff where patients usually present should improve detection and advice

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

The UK government announced at the end of last year that £3.2m (4.8m; $6m) was to be made available "for new initiatives which will help identify and intervene early with" people who may be damaging themselves with alcohol.¹ In 2004 in England 38% of men and 16% of women aged 16-64 had an alcohol use disorder (26% overall), equivalent to around 8.2 million people.²

About £217m is currently spent on specialist alcohol treatment, but compare that with the £20bn estimated cost of alcohol misuse. We hope that some of the new money will be used to support those clinical settings in which alcohol misuse is common and detection and intervention are most likely to be rewarding—for example, in hospital emergency departments, general practices, and hospital wards.

Most conurbations in England have one or more specialist alcohol units, which are usually headed by psychiatrists and largely deal with complex . . . [Full text of this article]

St Mary's Hospital, London W2 1NY
(r.touquet@imperial.ac.uk)

16 Hammer Lane, Warborough, Oxon OX10 7DJ

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• Patton, R, Shute, J, Hinchley, G, Ranzetta, L (2009). Efficacy of alcohol screening in the accident and emergency department managed by reception staff: a pilot study. Emerg. Med. J. 26: 424-425 [Abstract] [Full text]  
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Rapid Responses:

Read all Rapid Responses

A Good initiative

Mahidhar Godavarti
bmj.com, 8 Sep 2006 [Full text]

Gps are not reluctant to get involved in caring for alcohol users

James M Mather
bmj.com, 8 Sep 2006 [Full text]

Pushing the Front Lines

Javad S. Fadardi
bmj.com, 15 Sep 2006 [Full text]

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