Managing alcohol use in primary care

People who struggle with alcohol problems are stigmatised in extraordinary ways.The UK treatment system has been partly dismantled and cheaper provision outside the National Health Service accepted. 1 2 Predictably, much of the burden of alcohol related disease is borne by hospitals, 2 not least because there is little alcohol treatment available in primary care. 3 Even seemingly unremarkable drinking is implicated in a wide range of health issues. 4 Usually unnoticed, alcohol interferes with the everyday work of primary care. 5This dysfunctional situation requires high level strategic planning 6 to clarify the role of primary care in managing the UK's problematic relation with alcohol.