Facts about Alcohol and Health

Information for licensees about selling alcohol responsibly.

We encourage licensed premises to promote responsible drinking, to help protect people's safety and improve their health.

Why Do We Need to Promote Responsible Drinking?

The importance of trying to reduce the binge drinking culture among a significant and increasing minority, and encourage a relaxed, civilised approach to drinking, is shown by these facts about alcohol in the UK:

• Over 70 per cent of admissions to hospital Accident and Emergency units at weekends are for injuries related to binge drinking

• Deaths related to alcohol abuse - liver disease and alcohol poisoning have increased by 18 per cent in the last five years

• Alcohol-related deaths have gone up from 5,525 in 2000 to 6,525 in 2004

• Department of Health statistics show one in every 11 women is putting themselves at risk by binge drinking more than six units of alcohol in a single night - the equivalent of almost a bottle of wine - at least once a week

• Alcohol abuse is not confined to a small problem minority

• Nearly six million people in England and Wales drink twice the recommended weekly limit

• Almost a third of young women are classified as binge drinkers

• 7 per cent of all adults in Britain are dependent on alcohol - five million people

• Alcohol consumption has risen by 50 per cent in the last 30 years - 12 per cent during the last 10 years

• The NHS spends £1.7 billion a year treating alcohol related disorders

• Royal College of Physicians statistics show that the rate of liver disease - cirrhosis, causing chronic liver damage - has gone up tenfold since the 1970's, mainly due to alcohol abuse

• The number of deaths from liver cirrhosis has risen 900 per cent in the last 30 years. Scientists attribute the rise in deaths to the fact that people are less able to cope with increased alcohol levels, partly because more people are overweight

• The number of women aged between 15 and 24 admitted to hospital due to alcohol abuse rose almost 10 per cent, with 1,400 needing treatment

• 18,600 people in England go to hospital each year suffering from mental and behavioural disorders related to alcohol abuse, including acute intoxication, liver problems, violence and suicide attempts

Why Do We Need to Prevent Alcohol Sales to Under 18s?

It is illegal to sell alcohol to children under 18 in a shop or bar. The following facts illustrate some of the reasons the law protects children:

• Department of Health research shows that the amount of alcohol consumed by young children aged 11-15 in England has doubled - from 5.3 units a week in 1990 to 10.4 units in 2004

• The greatest increase has been among girls aged 14, now drinking 9-10 units a week

• The way teenagers' bodies handle drink depends on their physical size and stage of development. Usually, inexperienced drinkers do not know how getting drunk will affect them or how to cope. They are particularly vulnerable to accidents and injuries, as well as the dangers of alcohol poisoning

• British Medical Journal research shows that 2,000 drunken children go to hospital every year

• There has been a 24% increase in the number of girls under 14 treated for the effects of sustained drinking in the last six years

• In 2003 more than 300 young girls needed treatment for conditions including acute alcohol intoxication and liver problems