More 'addicted to alcohol than drugs'

Alcohol consumption amongst teenagers has increased

Twice as many people are addicted to alcohol than to all other drugs, except tobacco, according to a report.

The study also reveals a rise in the number of deaths attributable to alcohol addiction.

The State of the Nation report, launched by Alcohol Concern at their annual conference on Thursday, reveals that one person in 13 in Britain is dependent on alcohol.

Alcohol facts

27% of adult men and 15% of women drink over the recommended safe levels

One in six people attending accident and emergency departments have alcohol related injuries or problems

One in seven people killed on the roads are involved in drink-drive accidents

920,000 British children have one or more parent who misuses alcohol

More than a quarter of 11 to 16-year-olds drink alcohol at least once a week

60% of employers experience problems due to employees' drinking

50% of the rough sleeper population are dependent on alcohol

That figure compares to one in 26 who are hooked on all forms of drugs, including prescription drugs.

But despite these statistics, says the report, just £1m is spent on alcohol prevention and treatment each year in England and Wales, compared with an expenditure of £91.45 million on drug prevention.

The charity has called on the government to implement a comprehensive strategy on alcohol.

Eric Appleby, director of Alcohol Concern, said: "The sheer breadth and scale of the problem - in terms of the impact on people's heath, relationships and pockets, not to mention on public services, especially the NHS - reinforces the need for urgent joined-up action at a national level.

"Currently responsibility for tackling the impact of alcohol misuse falls to a number of different government departments.

"What we need is a co-ordinated strategy that concentrates on prevention of harm, and tackles alcohol misuse on all fronts - education, public campaigns, community safety, counselling and treatment.

"The Department of Health is committed to a National Alcohol Strategy in its Saving Lives blueprint but we need action sooner rather than later if Britain's serious alcohol problems are not to deteriorate even further."

Memory loss

The number of deaths directly attributable to alcohol misuse, such as heart disease and liver cirrhosis, rose sharply in the second half of the 90s, from 3,853 a year in 1994 to 5,508 in 1999, says the report.

It also says that alcohol plays some part in an estimated 33,000 deaths a year, and 80% of the public does not think the government does enough to highlight the dangers of drinking alcohol.

And it states that one in four people have experienced memory loss, injured themselves or failed to turn up to work after a night's drinking.

The drinks trade spends £227m a year to advertise its products and the government nets £11.5bn per annum in tax revenue from alcohol sales.

Studies carried out in the UK have shown that alcohol misuse costs the NHS up to £3bn a year - between 2% and 12% of total NHS hospital expenditure.

Further costs to society include £3bn a year from sickness and absenteeism from work, premature deaths, accidents and alcohol-related crime.