We Are With You New Over 50's Alcohol Helpline

Published: Thursday, 19 November 2020 10:18

A recent survey by the alcohol charity We Are With You suggests a rise in high-risk alcohol consumption among over-50s amid restrictions imposed to control the spread of coronavirus. Twenty-four percent are believed to be high risk or possibly dependent, the Opinion Matters study of more than 1,150 people in the age group indicates. That is up from 17% in 2016. It also found that about 51% of those above 50 may be consuming alcohol at a level that could damage their health, with more than 4 million having in excess of four drinks in one sitting at least once a week.

Across the entire UK population, a study of more than 27,000 people by University of Glasgow, suggests a rise in people drinking more than six drinks in a single sitting at least once a week from 10.8% in 2017-19 to 16.2% during lockdown – with a rise in all age groups aside from those below 25.

To help more older adults access support, We Are With You is launching an alcohol helpline for over-50s funded by the National Lottery. It comes after research by the Centre for Ageing Better found that unhealthy habits may have become more ingrained since lockdown began, with 32% of 50- to 70-year-olds estimated to be drinking more.

Analysis of official data by the Royal College of Psychiatrists has also found that the prevalence of people drinking at higher risk was at 19% in June, up from 10.8% in February. It called for substantial investment in public health to prevent more lives from being “needlessly lost” to addiction following cuts to alcohol and drug services between 2013 and 2018.

Ian Hamilton, an expert in addiction and mental health from the University of York, said the findings correlated with recent research and that over-50s appeared to be at greatest risk of alcoholism during the pandemic. “The problem is: where do they go for support?” he said. “Treatment was already pretty difficult to get into before Covid, but particularly for over-50s I’m not sure how willing they’ll be to engage in virtual groups. I suspect they’d prefer something more personal or tailor-made, if they can get it at all.”

If you’d rather not talk on the phone, they also have a webchat service offering instant text-based help.

Is it confidential? 

Everything you tell the team is confidential. It won’t be share it with anyone else. The only time this might change is if we have serious concerns about your own or someone else’s safety.

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