09/01/2012 Inside Out London

Hallo, I'm Matthew Wright and welcome back to Inside Out I hope

you had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Here's what's

coming up on tonight's Alcohol Special. This Christmas was the

worst on record for binge boozing. He's been drinking vodka and

Jagermeisters! With 1 in 5 of us are now classed as risky drinkers,

doctors say we are storing up major health problems for the future.

is the biggest public health issue that we face. But with booze all

around us just how easy is it to kick the habit? This is my last

drink before New Years' Eve! New Years' Eve! Now many of us will

have probably had a few, or few too many over the Christmas period, and

almost certainly exceeded the Government's recommended drinking

limits which, are the subject of a Select Committee report published

today. But the danger of seasonal excess is only part of the problem,

because specialists claim that many of us - even those who drink

moderately - are storing up "hidden harms" for ourselves in later life.

To find out just how dangerous our drinking habits can be, we set BBC

London's Wendy Hurrell the tough challenge of having a 'Dry

December' and having a whole month without booze. Here's how she got

on. December was the busiest month yet for the Ambulance service's

booze buses- they specialise in answering 999 calls for inebriated

Londoners- many of whom are normally quite sober. The 16th was

known as "Mad Friday". This man was picked up after an all day session,

and through his alcoholic haze he hardly realizes that he's being

taken to a health centre to dry out. Where do you live? In the bank!

the ambulance he tells paramedic Toni that he is a banker- and then

asks her if she wants his money. can do up to five calls take five

in the ambulance at any one time- so we are always available for a

call. Official Guidance on sensible drinking suggests men should have

no more than 21 units of alcohol In London, a third of men and a

quarter of women drink more than four units daily, and we aren't

giving our livers a break between sessions. Now that I've started

monitoring my drinking, I 'm surprised to find myself in that

number. I hadn't really thought that I could be storing up trouble

for myself in the future. Is it possible if I keep drinking at this

level, I could cause me harm in the long run? So my Dry December is

about finding out how reducing my alcohol in the evenings could make

a difference to my health. But some of my friends at my hockey team's

end of season fancy dress bash are incredulous about this whole

escapade. This would be so boring if you hadn't had a drink to get

you in the mood. You'd be sat there going, "What are all these idiots

doing? They are being so noisy!" And then you just go home.

price we pay for over indulgence in London is high, with 168 alcohol

call outs per day on average- costing �200 per person treated in

casualty. Do Leicester Square! Soho's three booze buses are

charged with scooping up those who have drunk themselves into oblivion.

The booze bus arrives in Leicester Square. A man is unconscious and

his life could be in danger. Yourself up! He was with his

girlfriend and had passed out after becoming catatonic. He's been

drinking vodka and Jagermeisters. He is in such a bad state the

ambulance diverts to St Thomas's. We're taking him to St Thomas's

because although he has had quite a lot to drink he's got a head injury

so hospital is the best place for him. I'd say that this is what the

majority of our work is now, is drunk people with associated

injuries. January is the period when most of us want to detox, but

my detox started more than a month ago, on the last day of November.

Dry December is going to be a real challenge. It's just going for

drinks with friends or going clubbing. It will be very really

hard to avoid the demon drink. So I need to get motivated and seek some

advice from the experts. Wednesday, one and a half beers and a glass of

champagne. For the last two weeks, with the help of my cat Ralph and

my boyfriend Jan, I've been keeping an account of the amount of alcohol

I have consumed, and I've been tested in order to assess whether

my drinking has already had a detrimental effect. You haven't

done yourself any lasting damage. In fact, nothing that's showing on

the test results yet. What concerned me from keeping this

alcohol diary was that I seemed to be drinking every single day. But

then is it better to spread it out like that or to do it every day

like that or to bunch it up in one big night on a Friday? The honest

answer is that it is probably better to drink a bit less and also

just to break the habit. Because you are probably not quite

dependent yet. You will become a drug that you take regularly, you

could become dependent. I think we could say that possibly your

drinking is verging towards the hazardous, but it's not causing you

harm, you are not dependent. It's very retrievable, but possibly with

some quite minor tweaks. So Doctor Ann Robinson recommends that I

change my drinking habits as they could classed as hazardous, but

what also concerns me is that it's not just my health which will

suffer, but possibly my appearance as well. The ageing process will be

accelerated, so what would normally happen would happen that much

faster the dilated pupils blood vessels in the cheeks and the nose

area and that's what gives you that slightly flushed look. I think it

will be an eye opener. I think it will be a great motivator over

December as well! So this is how you are going to look if you carry

on drinking the way you are for the next ten years! Oh goodness it gets

worse! My whole face just goes like that! So you can see you've had

some weight gain. For all the calories you've been drinking- and

the slightly bloodshot eyes and deeper wrinkles so it's not good,

is it? It's not great is it? It's November 30th and it's time

for my very last drinks with my Inside Out Colleagues, for the next

month I'll be booze-free. This is my last drink before New year's Eve.

Just been to meet the fabulous people across the regions who are

doing the same as me. They're all doing it with a certain amount of

trepidation. It's 1st December. It's a pinch and a punch for the

first of the month. On my first Dry December morning I'm in early for

Paul and Gaby's breakfast show. Wendy Hurrell- you're giving up

booze for a whole month! For a whole month! Have you ever done

this before? This is the thing. It's very easy to go over the limit.

Because if you share a bottle of wine with your partner every night,

it's actually nearly 30 units over what you are supposed to be

Despite years of campaigns many of us don't seem to know what safe

limits of alcohol consumption are. The messages are so confusing. No

one knows that more than Dave and Rob, two traffic cops from the Met

who have to enforce safe driving limits. What are the reasons that

people drink drive at this time of year? There's all manner of reasons,

none of which particularly make sense. Many people you will stop

and they'll say, well I've had a pint, is hat going to be enough for

me We can't comment, because it's impossible to say. It is best not

to drink at all. On the A40, Dave and Rob pull over a van which has

aroused suspicion as the driver is hogging the fast lane. Keep going,

keep going. Are you sure you haven't had a drink at all? Officer,

I don't drink! It did actually come back warn! It comes back with a

warning - the driver is just within legal limits. Last year out of

nearly 7000 breath tests in the Met at Christmas- over 900 led to

arrests for drink driving. Today the Commons Select Committee

looking at alcohol issues has published its report which stresses

our lack of understanding of It is often misinterpreted on

labels or in other literature as three to four units daily, or two

to three units daily, then you get that word "daily" coming in,

creeping in, and of course that really very much suggests that you

should be drinking every day so I think there are problems with the

way it's phrased. Tackling misconceptions about drink issues

is the aim of an annual drama competition in schools run by

Thames Valley police, which encourages pupils to research into

alcohol and its effects. Spending in this area has risen

�2.7 billion annually. Binge drinking is most common among 16-24

year olds. From doing the project and having to research a lot you

begin to see a lot more problems that arise from alcohol and drugs

misuse. 52% of teenagers have drunk alcohol at least once. A quarter of

over 16s in Britain are classed as hazardous drinkers. Well, is there

going to be any alcohol? There's going to be lots of alcohol! It's

11pm and paramedics in the special unit treating drunk and disorderly

patients are in Leicester Square to collect a teenager who has been

binge drinking on his 19th birthday. In order to keep the boy awake, his

family had poured cold water over him, in already freezing conditions.

Last year over 3000 under-16s in London were admitted to hospital

because of excess drinking, and medics are concerned. We are coming

across youngsters laying in the street. We've come across a couple

laying in a car park of a local supermarket. And they are getting

279 patients were seen at the two London alcohol recovery centres in

the ten days they were open between Christmas and new year, who would

otherwise have been taking space in casualty. Right, take your jacket

off. You're covered in vomit. any Many of the patients descend

into a drunken stupor and sleep until they recover. Some of them

wake up with a raging hangover. This strikes a chord with those of

us who are prone to partying. One symptom of overindulgence is

insomnia. I wore this monitor to gauge whether I was having a

peaceful or restless night's sleep. Now I've given up the booze I'm

curious to know whether my sleep pattern will improve. I wore it

once after I had been drinking, a couple of drinks. I got quite

annoyed with it but it did tell me something. What's interesting about

it straight away is you don't have the signs of somebody who has been

drinking a lot for a long time. Deep sleep occurs in the first half

of the night, usually in the first couple of cycles of sleep. Most

people will get two to three hours of deep sleep that. Occurs early on.

After a couple of days of not drinking I had the most amazing

night's sleep. Over time when you become abstinent and your sleep

settles you start to get a full recovery. I'm one week in. Have you

noticed any differences? Are you bright eyed and bushy tailed?

honestly say I'm sleeping better. Am I bright eyed and bushy tailed

in the morning? Not really. I'm not a morning person. But I am feeling

energetic. It doesn't need to be alcoholic, it is just habitual.

This is the thing I have realised over the last week already. Since

my non-drinking regime I have felt a lot healthier. I've done all the

things I usually do with my time and I've enjoyed them as much, if

not a little more. And I'm not alone in finding new ways to enjoy

a booze-free life. London is full of groups of teetotallers who get

together regularly and seek alternative ways to have fun and

socialise. For people who choose not to drink, and I'm one of them,

we need find other ways to rely on our internal resources to help us

to get all of those benefit that other people get through, we could

say, artificial means. Biodans za is a form of dance and meditation

which originated in Chile. It is about letting go. It is not about

learning steps. There this is a great opportunity for people to get

together without the influence of alcohol, and pretty much letting

their hair down and getting involved and enjoying the vibe.

really enjoyed the hugging and the touching and the kissing part of it,

because I'm really a touchy, Fehily and huggy person anyway.. A lot of

it is a lifestyle choice. People who meditate, something spiritual.

A lot of people don't want alcohol in their life and what it brings.

People I know who don't drink alcohol still socialise with people

who do. There are plenty of designated drivers, things like

that. The social impact of not drinking is something I've had to

get used to. Most of my friends are now accepting the fact I'm off the

hooch. What does one do in a wine bar if you are not drinking? Yes,

what are you doing here? And did you feel better? Yes. I do, but I

still want that. I don't think you can have it. Can I have some fizzy

water? I've treated myself to a bottle of fizzy water in a wine bar.

As someone who is a very sociable beast normally I associate drinking

with fun, but that's tipping over into a regular occurrence that

became a reality for Karen Fletcher. She ran her only successful

companies until her drinking made her lose nearly everything. This is

my yoga teacher Caroline. We had just won a major national client

and this was just an excuse for me to party. I just had no idea that I

was taking my life in my hands really. Exhale, empty out your

tummy... Caroline is now reformed and is following a healthy

lifestyle, which she now sees her drink was almost lethal. I had

quite severe physical symptoms and illnesses that came along. Bring

your belly button up to your spine... By the time my drinking

had taken hold of me and was really controlling my decision making, so

that my life became sketch about how do you incorporate alcohol into

my working life really? It was starting to get to the point where

it was more difficult to focus and concentrate. And in the end I was

using alcohol to help me to concentrate. For two weeks you've

been without alcohol. Yes, two weeks in. And you admitted honestly

to us you drank every night. How is it going? It is difficult to sit

there watching everyone drinking alcohol and wine. What do you do in

a wine bar? Don't think I'm one of those people who shovels alcohol

down my neck to get drunk, I don't do that. I was drinking with

Spanish friends as well, so it was torture. My month with no alcohol

has so far proved doable. But even with the moderate amount I used to

drink, could there be hidden damage to my liver? At King's College

Hospital they treat people with liver disease. The first stage is a

test. What is this machine testing for? It looks at how stiff your

liver is. The stiffer your liver, the more advanced liver disease you

have. Normal tissue gets replaced with fibrous tissue. I want to find

a spot in your ribs. That's my tickly one! You have no scarring on

your liver, and that's what we expect. That's all done. Cool.

is what the reading gives us, the stiffness is measured in

kilopascals, 3.5 is normal. Dr Kosh Agarwal is a consultant who

specialises in liver disease or cirrhosis. He says patients are

getting younger. We are seeing younger patients now with

significant liver disease. It's a major killer in the UK. It is one

of the top five killers and it's the only one that's going up. The

rest are going down. We are seeing younger patients presenting with

alcohol-related problems, particularly alcohol-related and

binge-related issues, and more young women. Ben is in his mid 30s

and is receiving counselling at Mount Caramel -- Carmel rehab

centre in Streatham. If it wasn't for this place where would you be

now? Either dead or unwell. How did it all begin, the problem with

drink, for new In my teens and just pretty much consistently since then

really until now. I think I was probably an alcoholic before I even

started to drink. What sort of things were you experiencing,

health-wise? Liver disease. Cirrhosis. I was, well, I was a

chronic alcoholic. As well as counselling Ben is being treated

for cirrhosis at Kings. Even with severe liver problems there is

still a hope of recovery. doesn't mean that because you've

got cirrhosis there is nothing else you can do. You doing the things

that you've done, absolutely staying off the alcohol,

consistently and for the foreseeable future, is giving your

liver the breathing space it needs to improve on the short term and

over the longer term. It must take tremendous courage to talk to us

about it. Where do you see yourself going from here? I've missed out on

so much through drink. All my teens and my 20s, I want to go and do the

things I didn't do. I kick off week four of my dry December with

another session with Paul and Gaby. I'm proud I've managed to survive a

wedding withoutry sorting to the booze. How are you feeling?

feeling much better for it, I'm much sharper, much more energetic

and I'm sleeping better. I am feeling much better. I'm relieved

that so far I don't seem to have done my I rep rabble damage through

drinking. While people my age can sometimes get away with it, it is a

different story for drinkers further non-life. I think we focus

far too much on the young ones. They are very visible, they vomit

in the street. You don't tend to see a 70-year-old retired bank

manager vomiting in the street, but it is just as much a problem for

people drinking at the other end of life as it is for the young ones.

To get a sense of the range of attitude elderly people have, I

went to a group called Growing Old Disgracefully. This is whisky for

my Christmas cake. I put brandy and Amaretto in mine! Sherry in a

trifle. You don't even have to drink, just eat lots of cake!

practice work says, "Are you still having a glass of red wine a day?"

And I say, "No, I'm having two!" and she says, "Jolly good!" I'm

home alone. So many people may be easy and it is very easy then to

think, well, I will just get myself a bit tiddly. What do you think to

someone saying to you, you are only allowed one-and-a-half units a day?

I don't take to younger people telling older people what to do. It

is patronising. It is not assuming that we know our own strengths and

weaknesses and our limits. I can judge myself whether I've had

enough. You are not going to knock on the door and say, "How many

glasses of wine have you had today?" Older people like this

enjoy their drink and feel they've earned their right to enjoy

themselves. Alcohol-related NHS admissions are rising faster for

the over 65s than any other group. Figures compiled for Inside Out

London reveal that over the past ten years there's been a 163%

increase. Of all the regions London has one of the highest rates of the

admissions. Only the North East has more. It is becoming increasingly a

bigger problem. In London, those who were aged 75 and above are

dying from alcohol-related diseases more than the average for the

general population. London is a particular pressure point there.

Within London, there are areas like Hammersmith and Fulham, Southwark,

Camden with even higher rates of death from alcohol-related

illnesses. Hammersmith resident Elsa, who wishes to remain

anonymous, is in recovery for a drinking problem that started late

in life but which came close to ending it. Had you been a drinker

before? No, I didn't drink hardly before. If I drink it would be a

sherry and I would be so ill afterwards I wouldn't bother again.

But then I just took off and I just didn't know when to stop. I never

seemed to get enough of it. He lots of upsets with the family. They

couldn't cope with it. I enjoyed it and it went completely out of

control. And with more time on your hands... Yes, I had time and I met

people likewise who liked to drink. I started to drink after the pub, I

stopped in time, because it was getting to the stage where I was

not recovering. I just could not get up off the floor any more.

sa is now in recovery for her alcoholism at a centre called

Foundation 66. Here there's a concern that there is an

everincreasing number of senior citizens seeking help for

alcoholism. About 40% of the people who are accessing our service has

never accessed a alcohol service previously. For them, drink became

problematic due to a major life- changing event, whether death of a

spouse, redundancy, moving from an area and losing contact with

support networks. A new study by the Central and North London NHS

Trust revealed exclusively to inside out said services for older

It's fantastic, your blood pressure. Now I'm nearing the ends of my dry

December I've had a chance to reflect on what I've learnt from

the people I met along the way. I had a final visit with Dr Ann

Robinson. You have lost a couple of kilos at a time of year when you

said you might have put on a few through all the snacks and things.

There's definitely been a lot of mince pies involved over the past

few weeks, so it is surprising. Virtually every parameter has

stayed the same or is better. Will you be making lasting changes to

the way you drink? I think so. I will go back to drinking, because I

enjoy it. A lot of mine is habitual rather than for pleasure. I haven't

missed the hangover. I haven't missed waking up fuzzy on a

Saturday morning. I've been able to bounce out of bed. So you are

thinking by drinking less you will enjoy it more? I think so. New

Year's Eve and it is nearly time for my first alcohol in a month. In

the West End they've already been at it and the "booze bus"

ambulances are responding to 999 calls, the first two that

paramedics pick up are 18 and 19 years old. This young woman had

consumed five shorts and two buyer bottles of rose. What a way to see

in the new year, eh? I'm settling for a quieter New Year's Eve with

friendsment and my first sip is nectar. -- with friends, and my

first sip is nectar. Congratulations to Wendy for

passing the dry December challenge with flying colours. I suspect if

it were me I would have buckled earlier. If you would like details

of organisations offering alcohol- related advice and support, go

online: And that's all from this week's