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New casinos prescription for danger, doctors say
CONTROVERSIAL plans for supercasinos have come under double attack from doctors and nurses who warn they will lead to a surge in gambling addicts.
Under-fire Ministers are expected to revive plans to relax gambling laws next year after the House of Lords last month threw out proposals for Britain's first Las Vegas-style supercasino in Manchester and 16 smaller ones including ventures in Hull, Leeds and Scarborough.
But doctors writing in today's British Medical Journal (BMJ) said numbers of problem gamblers were bound to rise and little weight had been given to the health impact of increased gaming if plans went ahead.
Delegates to the Royal College of Nursing's annual conference in Harrogate yesterday also urged a rethink, warning of the dangers to poorer communities.
The doctors said Britain had few specialist services to tackle problem gambling while the wider impact on public health was "even more hidden but ultimately more damaging".
Addiction could "destroy" families and efforts to get hold of money "can cause marital conflict, child neglect, poor work performance, multiple addictions, stress-related physical ailments, crime, and even suicide", they said. "Problem gamblers and pathological gamblers are more likely than others in the general population to have been divorced, had physical and psychological problems, lost a job, been receiving welfare benefits, been declared bankrupt, and been imprisoned."
The doctors from the West Midlands, where Sandwell Council has become the first in England to use new powers to prevent casinos opening, also urged family doctors to become more aware of behaviour linked to problem gambling.
"General practitioners routinely ask about smoking and drinking, but gambling is something not generally discussed. A possible doubling of problem gambling rates is unlikely to become apparent overnight, and health consequences are likely to be insidious.
"Anything that makes the poor people in Britain even poorer ... will damage their health, further increasing inequality in health."
Nurses yesterday backed moves to put pressure on Ministers to tighten proposals. Linda Bailey, from east London, who led calls for action, accused the Government of "blinkered and pig-headed attempts" to get the measures in place.
She added: "This is not a nanny-state thing. But the Government has to consider whether relaxing the laws is good for the health of the nation.
"This addiction widens inequality of income, it leads to bankruptcy, domestic violence, suicide, families can become neglected, and by making the poor even poorer their life spans can become reduced."
Bryan Williamson, from Leeds, said: "If there are a greater number of participants, there will be a greater number of losers. There are only two winners here – the owners of casinos and the Government who will profit from the gambling tax."
Doctors from Liverpool, also writing in the BMJ, warned that Parkinson's disease sufferers are at greater risk of becoming addicts and are particularly vulnerable to online gambling.
Of those with the disease, 3.4 per cent are pathological gamblers, rising to 7.2 per cent of patients taking certain drugs.
Drugs which help reduce Parkinson's symptoms may affect the form of mental restraint that stops people compulsively gambling.
Many were highly secretive and ended up thousands of pounds in debt before the problem was realised.
In Britain, online gambling has doubled since 2001 and there are an estimated 300,000 problem gamblers.
A Department of Health spokeswoman said: "Anybody with a gambling problem who seeks help from the NHS will be offered support and, if necessary, treatment to help them overcome their addiction.
"Specialised addiction services have a long history of helping people with gambling problems."
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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