Stats uncovered by the Liberal Democrats show that hospital admissions due to alcohol related illnesses related reached almost 1m in 2008-2009, a colossal increase of 47% higher from 04/05. And the figures don’t even include  injuries caused by alcohol. The North East of England was the highest riser at 55% where our own hair alcohol testing stats show that 39% of samples are positive to a consumption of more than 7.5 unit per day versus a UK average of 35%.

Screening for alcohol takes on whole new meaning with this year’s Christmas campaign from Drinkaware. The charity has put giant touch screens in the city centres of London, Glasgow, Birmingham and Leeds to encourage the public to self-report their consumption. All the information gathered by the live screens will be fed onto the charity’s website where we’ll be comparing it with our own database on self-reporting – noted at the same time as we take samples for Hair Alcohol Testing.

Good luck to the Customer Service Team at Trimega Laboratories who will be at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London tonight where they are on the shortlist for this year’s National Customer Service Awards. They are up against British Gas, DPD Express Parcel Delivery and Vangent in the Innovation category for the massive benefits that Hair Alcohol Testing delivers to Local Authorities and Family Courts in assessing child protection cases.

Flying the flag for substance misuse testing – and in particular Hair Alcohol Testing – Avi Lasarow of Trimega Laboratories is on tonight’s shortlist for Entrepreneur of the Year at the National Business Awards where Alistair Darling, Chancellor of the Exchequer, is keynote speaker.

Prof Nutt’s three main factors that determine how much harm a drug can cause includes:

a) the physical harm to the individual user caused by the drug; b) the tendency of the drug to induce dependence; c) the effect of drug use on families, communities and society. His controversial new ranking of harm is published here

It is the third of these factors that is least understood and perhaps what the Government finds so hard to swallow. Later this month the Schools & Safeguarding Children Bill will grant media access to medical evidence in child care hearings (including hair alcohol tests and hair drug tests) and may help in broadening understanding.