Filthy druggies costing us $$$$$

[Mr Nice Guy]

Perhaps a tax on booze to offset the damage to the economy or financial fines on the liquor companies should be looked at.

Booze-related hospital admissions in Canterbury are climbing at a cost of about $80 million a year, a new report says.

The New Zealand Medical Journal article published today reveals alcohol-related admissions increased 18.4 per cent in the country's hospitals between 2006 and 2011.

Alcohol-related admissions at Canterbury District Health Board (CDHB) rose from 16,220 patients a year to 19,180, with the estimated cost of treating about 6000 patients at $27.4m.

With Christchurch being home to one of the busiest emergency departments in Australasia - treating more than 83,000 patients each year - the total cost of alcohol admissions to CDHB was about $80m a year, the journal said.

Professor Doug Sellman, who is director of the National Addiction Centre, said it would be much more when considering long term alcohol-related diseases, since the estimated cost to the country was $4.4 billion.

"It's still a huge amount of money," he said.

[Lux]

Supplier should be taxed to kingdom come too, as long as booze barons are looked after the problem will not go away.

[Stu]

I personally think the drunks should be billed or fined otherwise responsible drinkers are paying more to cover them, plus it might encourage the dickheads to drink a bit more responsibly - that of course needs to take into account responsible drinkers that end up in hospital because they've been assaulted by dickhead drunks

there's no real comparison in that snippet, or I guess 19,180 of 83,000 could be one meaning 25% of admissions are alcohol related

[Mr Nice Guy]

They found 5 per cent of all admissions (182 out of 3619 patients) during that time were related to alcohol.

More than 80 per cent of those affected by alcohol had been "bingeing", consuming a median 14 drinks each. Male patients accounted for 64 per cent of all alcohol-affected patients admitted at weekends.

Rest here http://i.stuff.co.nz/the-press/10436215/80m-bill-for-binge-drinking