BUS pass, pension, gold watch... and the comfy chair at Alcoholics Anonymous.
A new breed of Saga louts - retired people who drink too much - has been identified by a top psychiatrist, who claims they are second only to twenty-somethings in their appetite for alcohol.
Dr Peter Rice says the typical Saga lout is retired, ac
quired a taste for drinking at home as alcohol prices dropped in the 1970s and 1980s, and is well off enough to enjoy regular evenings knocking back their favourite wines and beers.
Rice, a consultant psychiatrist based at Sunnyside Royal Hospital, Montrose, is concerned by the growing number of elderly binge drinkers on his patient list.
Rice is so concerned he has flagged up the problem to a Scottish Parliament think-tank, Scotland's Futures Forum, which is investigating ways to reduce alcohol and drug misuse.
Recent figures obtained by Scotland on Sunday reveal that in 2001/2 the number of people over the age of 60 admitted to Scottish hospitals with an alcohol-related illness was 8,500. This rose to 10,573 in 2005/6. But the trend among youngsters is down, with 1,733 teenagers aged 15 to 19 admitted in 2001/2, compared with 1,462 in 2005/6.
Rice said: "Older people's drinking has not had the same public awareness as young people's drinking. The trend in young people seems to be improving slightly, but in older people the numbers being admitted to hospital with alcohol-related illnesses are increasing. This is just the tip of one big iceberg and the situation seems to be worsening. The term I have used to capture the issue is 'Saga louts'."
He added: "These are really important and consistent trends. In older people this will be a group of people whose drinking began 30 years ago when alcohol consumption was starting to increase, and that drinking generation is feeding through.
"But it's not just that. People are actually increasing their drinking between the age of 60 and 65. We are seeing a big move from the pub to off-sales drinking in Scotland. I think it is driven largely by the fact that the relative price of alcohol off-sales has fallen dramatically," he said.
"It's a bottle of wine, or beer or spirits at home in the evening, but consumption above the recommended weekly levels of no more than 21 units for men and 14 units for women a week."
Rice added: "With older people there are health complications to the liver and pancreas, memory failure or impact on relationships with their family and friends or money problems.
"We need to put up the price of alcohol, as the falling cost is a major driver in Scotland's worsening health record. We are paying a price for cheap alcohol."
Experts blame a number of factors for high levels of drinking among the elderly.
The current generation of pensioners grew up as drinking became more socially acceptable and are more likely to be drinkers than their predecessors. They have a higher level of disposable income and access to relatively cheaper alcohol because of cut-price supermarket deals. Other factors blamed for excessive alcohol consumption among the elderly include retirement and decreased social activity, isolation, illness, insomnia and pain.
However, they are less tolerant of alcohol than younger people because of physical changes to the body through the ageing process.
A spokesman for Age Concern Scotland said: "People associate binge-drinking with young people and nightclub culture, but politicians and health professionals need to take a step back to look at the bigger picture.
"I think there is probably a correlation between excessive drinking beyond pension age and the circumstances that many older people find themselves in, with fewer friends, loneliness and relatively low levels of income. It does not surprise us that this is a growing mental health problem."
Jim Ferguson, a 67-year-old retired technical manager and Help the Aged campaigner from Perth, said his drinking habits are totally different from those of his parents and grandparents.
He drinks a glass or two of red wine or a pint of super-strength lager most days and is a member of a wine club.
"I don't think I drink to excess, but my own parents only drank at Christmas and on holidays," he said. "Alcohol is much cheaper now and supermarkets have made it more affordable.
"But the effects are more pronounced when you are older and I cannot drink as much as I did when I was younger. After a couple of glasses I begin to feel it."
Still game for a tipple - it's part of family life
Ellen and Huw Oakley, both retired teachers, enjoy wine and spirits each week and consider their drinking to be a normal part of family life.
Ellen, 66, who was born in Lesmahagow, South Lanarkshire and now lives in Sussex, says she and her husband drink more alcohol mid-week since their retirement. A glass of wine with meals, a sherry before Sunday lunch and a whisky in the evenings is simply a normal part of their weekly routine.
She said: "We are likely to have alcohol three times a week, usually with a meal at home. When I was growing up we would never have wine in the house and the only time I remember drink being taken was New Year. I hardly knew it existed. But now there has been a change in our drinking culture and there is a different attitude to women drinking.
"I think more people drink in retirement, particularly if they become widowed, and it can be a problem if they don't go out and are drinking at home."
Her 67-year-old husband, a member of a wine club, added that they are often tempted by supermarket offers, but he was unlikely to drink more than a couple of glasses in one evening.
He said:
"I have grown up with alcohol as a normal feature of family life so it was never off limits to me.
"However, I don't have the capacity for drinking too much. It's not that we have wine at every single meal."
The full article contains 1036 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
