General health care patients from six European countries were asked for reasons why they did not seek help for AUDs. The study showed that lacking problem awareness was the major reason for not seeking treatment, especially in less severe cases that are however prone to physical harm from heavy drinking [36]. A more regular monitoring of patients’ alcohol consumption and offering brief interventions for individuals with mild AUDs could potentially improve their health and reduce societal harm [53]. For more severe cases treatment barriers were reported more frequently. For these cases GPs could serve as a junction point to specialized care.
