Does alcohol have as much of a focus as drug addiction in UK essays

Does alcohol have as much of a focus as drug addiction in UK essays Alcohol is the most commonly used drug in Britain with only 7 per cent of men and 13 per cent of women describing themselves as non-drinkers (Joseph Rowntree Foundation, 2000: 6). When considered in population terms, alcohol is a more important risk factor for antisocial behaviour than are other drugs because it is more frequently taken in excess (Rutter et al, 1998: 154). Most people consume alcohol socially and moderately; however there are some who drink heavily, with not just adverse physical and psychological effects for themselves. It has been estimated that alcohol misuse contributes to 40% of violent crime, 78% of assaults and 88% of criminal damage cases (Deehan, 1999: 1). Coupled with reports that 28% of all offenders seen by the probation service have alcohol problems compared with 12% with drug problems (Alcohol Concern, 1999: 16), it would seem that alcohol has a larger part to play in crime than the misuse of drugs. However, the Government has invested heavily in drug use prevention - 94 million per year - but has seemingly neglected the issue of alcohol misuse, spending as little as 1 million per year on promoting prevention and treatment (Dean, 2000). Add to this a lack of true alcohol-related crime figures, with only specific drink-driving offences having a recorded statistic; until recent Home Office guidance, an absence of an ade quate definition of an alcohol-related incident (Alcohol Concern, 1999: 14); and the creation of a community order specifically for drug misusing offenders and not alcohol misusers (the Drug Treatment and Testing Order, or DTTO) and it would seem that alcohol has been left to take a back seat in the Governments agenda. To try and ascertain whether alcohol is the forgotten issue in the Criminal Justice System (CJS), this essay will be examining (albeit briefly) the relationship between alcohol ...