Alcohol consumption

Malignant neoplasm of the lung - Alcohol consumption Factor

The alcohol factor for malignant neoplasm of the lung applies only to reasonable hypothesis cases.  It requires consumption of at least 350 kilograms of alcohol within a continuous 25 year period before the clinical onset of malignant neoplasm of the lung.

As part of the investigation of this factor, you will be asked to consider whether VEA (operational) service made a material contribution to this level of alcohol consumption.

This requires consideration of the following:

• Guideline for claims assessors on smoking and alcohol related conditions and military service and also
• AN02/2000, an Advisory Note concerning Alcohol Habituation.

A material contribution by operational service can be made in a number of ways:

• an amount was consumed during operational service, as a causal result of operational service;
• an amount was consumed because of another medical condition, either during operational service or after operational service, or both.  For example: as part of alcohol dependence or alcohol abuse; or as part of another psychiatric condition; or as "self medication" for a medical condition.

The Repatriation Commission also agreed that arguments put to delegates that are outside the Guideline must still be considered for substance and medical and scientific support.  However the Commission did not agree that the temporal connection of service life with alcohol consumption is enough to establish ‘habit’ as the cause of alcohol use.

“Habituation” is often an argument advanced to connect service conditions with post service alcohol consumption.

A search by the RMA for sound medical scientific evidence bearing on "habituation" revealed only one epidemiological study (as at April 2000) that bears on the ‘habituation’ issue, that is, whether a “habit” of alcohol drinking continues from the service environment into the community after discharge from service.  In fact that paper suggested that not only was there no association with military service there is some evidence that military service produces the opposite effect.

Last reviewed for CCPS 18 July 2007.

Investigative Documents

Preliminary questions [36256]

25686 the veteran has consumed alcohol at some time.

36258  the veteran has established the causal connection between the alcohol consumption and operational service for the clinical onset of malignant neoplasm of the lung.

Clinical onset and operational service [36258]

36259 the veteran drank at least 350 kilograms of alcohol within a continuous 25 year period before the clinical onset of the condition under consideration.

36260 operational service made a material contribution to the veteran's consumption of at least 350 kilograms of alcohol within a continuous 25 year period before the clinical onset of the condition under consideration.

36261 the veteran's drinking of at least 350 kilograms of alcohol within a continuous 25 year period before the clinical onset of the condition under consideration, which was materially contributed by operational service, was due to the veteran's serious default, wilful act or serious breach of discipline.