Latest news with #excessiveDrinking
BBC News
08-07-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Alcohol advice in Wolverhampton after high number of deaths
Wolverhampton residents are being encouraged to consider the harmful effects of excessive drinking as part of Alcohol Awareness and hospital admission rates in the city for alcohol-specific conditions are both significantly above the national average, the council misuse service Recovery Near You and council services will be available at several locations in the city throughout the week offering advice and the harms caused by alcohol were a priority for the city, councillor Obaida Ahmed, cabinet member for health, wellbeing and community, said. "Many people like to drink alcohol from time to time, but it is important to do so in moderation because the harm caused by alcohol affects millions of people every year - leading not just to health problems but also causing financial worries, relationship breakdown and family difficulties," Ahmed data suggested that, of those living in the city who require support with their drinking, only about a quarter are currently engaged with support services, the authority 2023, it said it was reviewing its services after recording the highest rate of alcohol-specific deaths in the people died in Wolverhampton due to alcohol consumption in 2020, prompting the review, the council this year, the region's Police and Crime Commissioner, Simon Foster reported almost 20,000 people were treated for drug and alcohol misuse in the West Midlands last and support locations:The Bob Jones Community Hub, Bromley Street - Tuesday 8 July from 10:00 and 14:00 BSTThe Hub, Railway Drive - Wednesday 9 July from 10:00 and 14:00 Recovery Hub Connaught Road - Thursday 10 July from 09:00 and 17:00 Duncan Street Primary Care Centre - Friday 11 July from 10:00 and 14:00Pennfields Medical Centre, Upper Zoar Street - Saturday 12 July from 10:00 and 14:00 Guru Nanak Sikh Temple, Wednesfield on Sunday 13 July from 10:00 and 14:00 Follow BBC Wolverhampton & Black Country on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
The Guardian
28-06-2025
- The Guardian
Archbishop of Wales stands down after Bangor cathedral scandal
The archbishop of Wales has stepped down after a culture of excessive drinking, sexual promiscuity, bullying, bad language and inappropriate banter at Bangor cathedral was revealed. Andy John, who is also the bishop of Bangor, released a statement on Friday evening after calls for his resignation gathered pace. He said he was announcing his 'immediate retirement today as archbishop of Wales', adding: 'I also intend to retire as bishop of Bangor on 31 August'. Neither his statement nor those from senior colleagues in the Church in Wales made any reference to the scandal that has engulfed Bangor cathedral over recent years. Earlier this week, John issued an 'unreserved and unequivocal' personal apology regarding 'the situation', saying he took full responsibility for failings under his leadership. 'I repent and offer no excuses nor justifications,' he said. Calls for John to resign and for an independent inquiry into the cathedral's culture, the behaviour of clergy, staff and volunteers, and alleged financial mismanagement had been mounting. They came after a review by ThirtyOne: Eight, a Christian safeguarding agency, heard accounts of excessive alcohol consumption, inappropriate language and humiliating banter and a 'culture in which sexual boundaries seemed blurred, and to some … promiscuity was acceptable'. Homophobic comments and an 'unhappy working environment' were also reported. A separate report from a cathedral 'visitation' team recommended the appointment of 'strong leadership' to 'steady the ship', improved scrutiny of governance and finances, and discouraging unkind and inappropriate private communications. According to Tim Wyatt, who writes The Critical Friend, a newsletter on the Anglican church, and who has closely followed events at Bangor, the reports 'pretty much confirmed there was a lot of drinking, sleeping around, backbiting, bullying – basically a whole culture that was completely out of kilter with what a place of Christian worship is supposed to be about'. In addition, six 'serious incident reports' have been sent to the Charity Commission in the past 18 months, four relating to safeguarding and two relating to financial matters. Financial irregularities reportedly include more than £400,000 being spent on new furnishings for the cathedral with inadequate consultation, and £20,000 spent on trips to Rome and Dublin for senior staff. A spokesperson for the Charity Commission said: 'We have opened a regulatory compliance case to assess a number of concerns that have been raised related to Bangor cathedral and diocese, including matters reported directly to us by the charities. We are actively examining these matters with the charities' trustees to determine our next steps. 'As regulator, if we find evidence of wrongdoing, we take robust action using the powers available to us.' Many of the concerns about the cathedral centre on a period when Siôn Rhys Evans was its acting dean – in effect chief executive – while continuing in post as secretary of the Bangor diocese. Both posts are senior full-time jobs, and it is unprecedented for one person to manage both sets of responsibilities and workloads. In another highly unusual move, Rhys Evans – who was seen as a protege of John – was made acting dean only a few years after being ordained as a priest. To be elevated so quickly to a high-profile job was an 'astounding over-promotion', according to Wyatt. In February 2024, Rhys Evans stood back from both roles without explanation. He was absent from work for 10 months, after which he quietly left to take up a new post as dean of a Westminster theological college in Cambridge. On Friday, Westminster college confirmed that Rhys Evans' probationary period was 'unsuccessful' and he had left his job in mid-May. The Guardian has been unable to contact him. Last month, two members of the cathedral's college of priests, Rev Dr John Prysor-Jones and the Very Rev Prof Gordon McPhate, called for an independent inquiry into events in Bangor. 'The reputational damage to the cathedral, the diocese, and the Church in Wales is considerable,' they said in a letter to the Church Times. Ruth Jones, the Labour MP for Newport West and Islwyn, said the church must give a full explanation to members and the public. 'We want openness and transparency in all our church settings and it's really, really important that the archbishop makes clear what has gone on,' she told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast.
CBS News
20-06-2025
- Health
- CBS News
Excessive drinking linked to jump in high blood pressure deaths during COVID pandemic, CDC report says
Excessive drinking was linked to a jump in high blood pressure deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In the report, out Friday, researchers found the estimated average number of hypertension deaths from excessive alcohol use was 51.6% higher in 2020 through 2021 than in 2016 through 2017. This increase amounted to about 21,137 deaths annually, compared to 13,941 for the respective time frames. The World Health Organization declared the COVID outbreak a pandemic in March 2020. In May 2023, it declared an end to the global pandemic emergency. The report also analyzed differences among sexes, finding that more than 60% of hypertension deaths caused by excessive drinking were among females — 61.2% during 2016 and 2017, and 62.8% during 2020 and 2021. During the 2020 through 2021 timeframe, the most recent years for which data is available, excessive alcohol use accounted for 1 in 5 hypertension deaths among females and 1 in 8 among males. The report looked at adults aged 20 and older using the CDC's Alcohol-Related Disease Impact, or ARDI, tool and mortality data from the National Vital Statistics System. The report comes as U.S. alcohol-related deaths have been increasing nationwide. Excessive alcohol use is a leading preventable cause of death in the United States, according to the CDC, with about 178,000 people dying from excessive drinking each year. Hypertension deaths linked to drinking, as analyzed in this report, are just a fraction of overall deaths caused by alcohol. Previous research has shown the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with increases in stress-related drinking and alcohol-related deaths, which didn't stop as things returned to normal. One 2024 study found drinking increases from 2018 to 2020 persisted into 2022, for example. This report is among the last to be published from the CDC's Division of Population Health team that studied alcohol mortality before they were laid off amid sweeping cuts by the Trump administration. The report also comes a week before the government is expected to announce updated dietary guidelines, including to long-standing recommendations about limiting alcohol consumption.
