One million drinkers end up in hospital every year

Binge drinking is a big problem for Britain and shocking statistics suggest 900 more drinkers are admitted to hospital every day in the last five years

Nearly 1,000 more people end up in hospital as a result of excessive drinking compared to just five years ago. Official figures show that 1.1million people in England were admitted to hospital in 2009/10.

The 25 per cent increase reinforces the severity of the situationand last night campaigners blamed the rise of cheap supermarket alcohol for the increase in problem drinking.

‘These figures are a result of supermarkets routinely selling cheap alcohol and the number of premises which are licensed to sell alcohol,’ says Don Shenker, chief executive of Alcohol Concern.

‘It is clear that this Governmentneeds to do far more to tackle the problems that all communities face in dealing with alcohol,’ he says. ‘If the UK wants a healthier relationship with alcohol, we need a different relationship with alcohol retailers and producers.’

The worst-affected region was London, where the number of alcohol related crimes per 1,000 residents reached 11.7 compared to 5.7 in the north east. But Professor Mark Bellis, director of the North West Public Health Observatory, says: ‘The scale of damage revealed by these profiles shows that alcohol is a problem for everyone in England.'

‘Harm caused by alcohol is unacceptably high,’ says Public Health Minister Anne Milton. ‘Solutions to alcohol-related problems lie at every level of Government, but we also need to change individuals attitudes toward alcohol.’

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