Page:George Archdall Reid 1896 The present evolution of man.djvu/330

318 Of these, 7505 were certified by private medical men; 1183 occurred in workhouses, infirmaries, and lunatic asylums; 646 in hospitals; and 666 were certified by a coroner. These 1402 deaths constituted almost exactly 14 per cent, of the total deaths. If this proportion still continues (and, as we have seen, there is reason to believe it has increased), the total deaths in the United Kingdom for 1889, altogether or partly caused by alcohol, were 94,416, of which 26,736 would be directly due to alcohol, and 67,680 accelerated or partly caused by it.

"79. Even this appalling estimate, made after the closest scrutiny by a critical committee of medical men, does not tell all the tale. It does not include many cases in which the constitution, having been damaged by alcohol in years gone by, succumbs earlier than it otherwise would to the inroad of disease. It does not include all cases in which the body has been starved or injured by the neglect or cruelty of drunken parents, and has been handicapped in the race of life. In these and many other roundabout methods alcohol destroys life, so that it appears extremely probable that 120,000 is the lowest number which can be estimated as the annual loss of life due to the presence of alcohol in our midst, and its use as a beverage. This is between onefifth and one-sixth of the total deaths.

"80. I have before referred to the report of the Collective Investigation Committee of the British Medical Association. In that inquiry, conducted over totally different ground, the deaths of intemperate males over twenty-five were 30 per cent, of the whole, while 25 per cent, more were careless drinkers, sometimes taking excess. This being the proportion among adult males, we find no difficulty in believing that about one death in seven is partly or wholly caused by alcohol, omitting for the moment those caused indirectly. All these results, arrived at in different ways, strongly confirm one another, and point to the irresistible conclusion that alcohol causes more deaths in the United Kingdom than any single disease, and justify all who are interested in the public health in devoting the most strenuous efforts to getting rid of it.