Malta’s first national alcohol policy will be published for public consultation towards the end of October, according national drugs and alcohol commission chairwoman Marilyn Clark.

She said the draft policy is ready and the commission is working on an action plan to implement it.

The policy will tackle market regulations, occupational health and safety, demand reduction, education and research. On Thursday the clinical director of substance abuse agency Sedqa, George Grech, said Malta urgently needed a national policy to address its growing alcoholism problem.

A December report by the EU-funded Amphora Project – which looked into alcohol policy in European countries – stressed the importance of having a national policy and pointed out Malta was lacking, he said.

Dr Grech said that, over the past two years, the number of people going to Sedqa for alcohol problems increased.

While there were no statistics on the prevalence of alcohol abuse among adults in Malta, people “on the ground” noticed an increase in women seeking treatment.

Younger people were also asking for help either because they had an addiction or they were regular binge drinkers.

It was therefore important for the policy to “see the light of day”, he said.

Figures obtained from the Foundation for Social Welfare Services, under which Sedqa falls, showed that last year 360 people with alcohol problems sought help through Sedqa.

The figure stood at 352 in 2011 and 348 the previous year.

The numbers cannot be compared with statistics before 2010 since a different method of data collection was used.

When contacted, Prof. Clark – who heads the National Commission on the Abuse of Drugs, Alcohol and Other Dependencies – said the draft was ready at the end of last year when it was presented to Cabinet, which sought further consultation.

Another draft was prepared and then presented to the minister responsible but everything stopped during electoral campaign.

The commission is now aiming to complete an action plan by the end of October when it will be launched for consultation during a national seminar, Prof. Clark said.