What Is the Problem with Increased Levels of Alcohol Consumption in the over 65s? Essay

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In the UK it is estimated that 1.4 million people aged over 65 consume more than the government recommended limit. The over consumption of alcohol increases the likelihood of developing a serious disease such as liver cirrhosis, which significantly shortens the individuals life expectancy. Not only this but research also suggests that drinking excessive amounts of alcohol over a long period of time can increase the risk of a dementia.

Also the elderly are more susceptible to the effects of alcohol in comparison to younger drinkers, and so are more likely to injure and hurt themselves when under the influence of alcohol. Plus there is the added cost of drinking regularly, it is estimated that 16% of over 65s drink every day and so considering that most pensioners are on fixed and relatively small budgets, the financial cost incurred to feed their habit must be significant.

The costs of drinking are not only to the individual, when an individual decides to drink more than the recommended weekly allowance there are external costs to third parties, it has negative externalities. The main cost is to the NHS, in the last 5 years there has been a 65% increase in hospital admissions for the over 65 age group due to alcohol related injuries. In order to care for these extra patients the NHS needs more funding, which is paid for by taxpayers and so inevitably the taxpayer is bearing the cost of this excessive drinking.

Another negative externality the taxpayer has to foot the cost of is paying for the extra police needed to deal with alcohol related crime such as drink driving. This also affects local residents in the area where these crimes are committed as an increase in crime may decrease the value of their houses. Although it is unlikely that pensioners would turn to robbery and anti-social behaviour when they have had a few too many and furthermore the many over 65s who are drinking excessively are doing so alone at home and so this point may not be as relevant with regards to this age group.

An additional negative externality of excessive drinking is the possible financial and emotional cost to the family of the individuals. The families may have to bear the cost of a rehabilitation centre if the individual drinks so much they become out of control and ill. Also there is an emotional cost to the family because they are having to watch their loved one risk their health and well being by drinking excessively.

One possible solution to these problems is for the government to impose a minimum price of 50p per unit of alcohol. This would increase the price of drinks with high alcohol content and so there will be a contraction in demand. In the short term this may cause there to be excess supply to the market, however eventually supply will shift to the left and there will be a new equilibrium in the market. By imposing a minimum price it should prevent people from buying and consuming too much alcohol at home where it cannot be regulated. It is estimated that if the Scottish 50p minimum price policy was rolled out in England the deaths of 11,500 pensioners could be saved. This would reduce this cost to the NHS and therefore taxpayers money could be used to improve the education sector or in other departments of the NHS. However alcohol is addictive and so isn’t very price elastic, and so even if an individual can’t afford to consume the amount they did previous to the minimum price policy they will find a way to. This is likely to lead to an increase in crime and so there is a cost to the police to deal with this crime, the taxpayer funds the police, and so the taxpayer is once again footing the bill.

Another possible solution to the problem of excessive drinking in the over 65s is to increase the retirement age because one reason that pensioners start drinking regularly is because they are lonely and/or they feel that they are no longer needed by society and so become depressed. If the retirement age was
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