Doctors link Uzulnieks’ three-promille driving to alcoholism

Three-promille intoxication indicates prolonged alcohol use and an inability to properly assess the consequences of one’s actions, doctors told Latvia’s public broadcaster LSM after former Welfare Minister Reinis Uzulnieks was detained for driving with a blood alcohol level above three per mille.

Doctors say some people recognise alcoholism as an illness only after causing a serious crash or being caught committing a serious offence. They also warn that society often tolerates the problem, while relatives cover for those affected.

Young people increasingly affected

Sarmīte Skaida, chief physician at the National Centre for Mental Health, said her Monday ward rounds were typical: there were more patients than beds, and all had been admitted with very high blood alcohol levels.

“A patient with 5.6 [per mille] was just admitted. It is almost becoming the norm now; women also have three, three and a half, or four [per mille],” Skaida said.

She said many of the patients were young people who could not cope with problems in relationships or at work and used alcohol to calm themselves in the moment.

High tolerance indicates prolonged use

Three-per-mille intoxication most likely indicates that alcohol has been consumed over a long period, said Māris Taube, head of the National Centre for Mental Health’s Veldre outpatient centre.

“It is a great deal. If a person can still drive a car with such a high blood alcohol level, it means prolonged use. The illness has lasted a long time,” Taube said.

Intoxication also prevents people from understanding and assessing what they are doing. Skaida said alcohol affects coordination and concentration, but most importantly a person’s ability to think about the consequences of their actions.

She said people close to those with alcohol problems were often uncritical of the situation. Families sometimes defend a person’s ability to drive by pointing to everyday responsibilities, such as taking children to school, even though the person may pose a potential danger.