Giving up alcohol could have caused drinker's death

8:54pm Wednesday 11th June 2008

Comments (0)   Have your say »

A HEAVY drinker's death could have been caused by him giving up his vodka habit too suddenly.

This was one of the theories today at the inquest of 51-year-old Anthony Laine-Toner who was found dead at home in a flat littered with empty bottles of the drink.

Giving up heavy alcohol use too quickly can cause changes to heart rhythms, consultant pathologist Dr David Bailey told the hearing.

Coroner Richard Hulett said that Mr Laine-Toner, of West Wycombe Road, High Wycombe, may have decided to lay off vodka for a few days.

And Mr Hulett, who delivered an open verdict into the cause of death, said this sudden stop may have been a reason.

He said: "There's a history of extremely high alcohol use. Police stated the house was littered with empty vodka bottles."

Dr Bailey said there were two other likely causes. He said: "One is a sudden circulatory event. A sudden drop in blood pressure to the heart but we do normally see evidence of that.

"The second alternative could be a chemical imbalance in the blood.

"It's possible that the fatty liver could have caused the death."

Very small amounts of alcohol and an anti depressant drug were detected on Mr Laine-Toner's body, he added.

He was discovered by a neighbour at his flat on December 18 last year.

His neighbour Phillip Hendy said another resident had asked him to check on Mr Laine-Toner after becoming concerned about his welfare.

He said: "I went into the flat and I started to look around. I saw Tony's dog Knasher.

"I saw no one was in bed. I looked between the bed and the sofa and saw Tony was lying face down on the floor with only his head and neck visible because the rest of his body was covered by a blanket."

Richard Hulett concluded: "There's no evidence he was a victim of any violence.

"It's quite likely he died from a heart event or misuse or ceasing use of alcohol.

"The only thing I can do is record an open verdict."