Under 18s drinking less than adults

The number of alcohol-specific hospital admissions of young people has dropped by 40% in the last six years, according to figures released by Public Health England.

In the last year alone, the number of under age alcohol-related hospital admissions dropped by 11%.

This chimes with a report released recently by charity Drinkaware that claimed middle-aged Britons – both men and women – are now drinking more than those in their late teens and early 20s.

However while admissions for those aged under 18 are dropping fast, the number of adults requiring attention for alcohol-related issues has risen, albeit by a small margin.

Women in particular have been singled out, with 64,000 women taken to hospital as a specific result of drinking in 2013/14 – a 2.1% increase on the year before. In comparison, 130,000 men were admitted, an annual increase of 0.7%.

Overall, 59% of local authorities in England saw a slight increase in alcohol-specific hospital admissions in adults, rising by 1.3% to 333,000.

Niall Campbell, a specialist in alcohol addiction at the Priory Hospital in Roehampton, slammed Britain as having a “chronic drink problem”, with middle-aged women said to be requiring increasing treatment.

“Women are drinking much more than they used to, particularly wine in the evening, and that quantity of drinking is causing significant problems in terms of liver disease and other serious conditions,” he said.

Amid such dire summations of the state of the nation’s health and dependance on alcohol, The Portman Group, an independent body tasked with promoting responsible advertising among the drinks trade, has stressed that alcohol consumption has actually fallen in recent years.

Binge drinking has fallen by 20% since 2007 among all adults aged 16+, [Office of National Statistics], while total alcohol consumption has fallen by 17%, according to the latest statistics by HMRC and the BBPA. What’s more, the same report released this week by Public Health England confirmed that there had been a 7% drop in mortality rates of chronic liver disease in both men and women.

In a statement, the Portman Group said: “These welcome figures are yet more evidence of the major decline in the number of alcohol-related hospital admissions for children”.

“This trend is consistent with the significant, decade-long, falls in underage drinking and binge-drinking among young people. The drinks industry will continue working in partnership with national and local government to tackle underage drinking through  life skills education for children, strict enforcement on underage sales and robust  ID schemes – a combination that is working.”

The areas with the largest number of alcohol-linked hospital admissions last year were Salford (1,073.9 per 100,000 people), Blackpool (797.7) and Manchester (763.5). The lowest figures were recorded at Wokingham in Berkshire (131.0), Thurrock in Essex (182.0) and Buckinghamshire (190.5).

The best and worst of the UK

Five highest areas for alcohol-related deaths (per 100,000 people)

1. Liverpool (25.3)
2. Manchester (24.7)
3. Portsmouth (23.0)
4. South Tyneside (22.6)
5. Bournemouth (21.9)

Five lowest areas for alcohol-related deaths (per 100,000 people)
1. Rutland (4)
2. Harrow (5)
3. Wokingham (6)
4. Central Bedfordshire (6)
5. Barnet (6)

Five highest areas for alcohol-related hospital admissions (per 100,000 people)
1. Salford (1,073.9)
2. Blackpool (797.7)
3. Manchester (763.5)
4. Liverpool (750.4)
5. Wirral (741.2)

Five lowest areas for alcohol-related hospital admissions (per 100,000 people)
1. Wokingham (131.0)
2. Thurrock (182.0)
3. Buckinghamshire (190.5)
4. West Berkshire (199.8)
5. Rutland (201.8)