Taiwan's first Alcohol Abstinence and Addiction Prevention Center opened its doors on Friday. The center, commissioned by the Health Ministry and run by Mackay Memorial Hospital will offer a range of services including face-to-face and hotline consultation, alcohol addiction screenings, and referral services. The ministry says the opening of the center marks a milestone in alcohol addiction and prevention treatment in Taiwan.
Health Minister Hsueh Jui-yuan (薛瑞元) attended the opening ceremony. In his speech, he said the ministry has introduced new strategies to target alcohol addiction, including expanding treatment. Hsueh says that liver cancer is now the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in Taiwan, and that alcohol consumption is identified as a key contributor to liver cancer.
According to Health Ministry Mental Health Department Director Chen Liang-yu (陳亮妤) there are around 4,500 alcohol related deaths in Taiwan each year. Chen says this is a conservative estimate and that an additional 40,000 people in Taiwan suffer from illnesses related to improper alcohol consumption. She says this leads to an annual healthcare resource burden of around NT$3.5 billion (US$110 million) and economic losses of almost NT$54.9 billion (US$1.7 billion).
In the future, the center aims to improve professional training, establish guidelines for care, and expand consultations to improve the prevention and treatment of alcoholism nationwide.