The hidden cost of New Year celebrations
A report out today by the Policy Exchange has cast a very different shadow over this evening's New Year celebrations with an estimate that it will cost the NHS £23 million to treat patients who have drunk too much over the next 24 hours. This is a damning indictment of the drinking culture in the UK and the underlying cost to the economy which is often hidden from view.
This is further fuel to the fire regarding the debate about the cost of alcohol in the UK, a debate which rages on in areas such as Scotland where minimum pricing has been suggested. Whether minimum pricing of alcohol penalises the majority for the actions of a minority is open to debate but the cost of drink related health issues in the UK, let alone matters in the employment market, are enormous.
When you also take into account the cost of policing, damage to property and casualties (with some fatalities expected this evening) the overall cost of the New Year celebration could be enormous. Hospital wards will be awash with casualties, alcohol will be freely available in houses, pubs and supermarkets up and down the country but who will foot the bill in the end?
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