300 DRINKERS A DAY TAKEN TO A&E
Worst day of drinking ‘during England match’
A SHOCKING 300 drinkers are being treated in hospital for alcohol poisoning every day.
The worrying NHS England statistic means over 110,000 admissions are made each year – more than three times as many as a decade ago.
Admissions hit a peak at the weekends, and Sunday is the worst day of the week, with an average of 388 people treated for alcohol-related illness.
Last year, one of the days with the highest number of people poisoned by booze was when England played Sweden in the World Cup quarter final. On that day, July 7, 711 boozed-up people were taken to hospital.
Symptoms of alcohol overdose include mental confusion, difficulty remaining conscious, vomiting, seizures, breathing problems and a slow heart rate.
Extreme cases of alcohol overdose can lead to permanent brain damage or death. Campaigners said misuse of alcohol is an unnecessary drain on our already overstretched NHS.
Ben Butler, from Drinkaware, said: “Alcohol when misused can have a costly impact, not just on the health of individuals and their families but also on the resources of our hospitals.
“Binge-drinking, for example, can be extremely dangerous. Our bodies can only process about one unit of alcohol an hour, and less for some people.
“Drink a lot in a short space of time and the amount of alcohol in the blood can stop the body from working properly.
“It also can lead to accident and injury as people are much more vulnerable when drunk.
“Regularly drinking more than the UK Chief Medical Officers’ guideline of 14 units a week can also result in serious health conditions such as heart disease, liver disease and seven types of cancer.”
The latest figures show 7,697 people died from causes related to alcohol in England in 2017. It was the largest number since 2008 – with alcohol-specific deaths among women at their highest level since 2001.
The findings came as a warning was issued about people risking their lives by drinking counterfeit booze.
The Local Government Association (LGA) statement followed a spike in the number of seizures of fake vodka from home-based sellers, shops and even some public houses.
Some of the seized bottles contained industrial-strength alcohol which, if consumed, can cause vomiting, permanent blindness, kidney and liver problems. In extreme cases it can kill.
Councillor Morris Bright, the vice chair of the LGA’s Safer and Stronger Communities Board, said: “Counterfeit alcohol is not only a serious danger to health, it harms legitimate traders and threatens livelihoods, with the counterfeit market funding organised criminal gangs.”