NOW BRITAIN’S SOBERING UP

Revealed: Number drinking to harmful level falls sharply

BRITONS are falling out of love with booze, official figures suggested last night. The number of adults drinking more than the recommended 14 units of alcohol a week has fallen significantly.

Just one in seven women, and one in four men, are breaching the limit. In 2011, it was one in five women and one in three men.

Experts said the findings were a sign that public health warnings were finally getting through. However, the NHS report also showed that deaths from alcohol abuse have risen 16 per cent in a decade to 5,800 a year.

Drink has become one of the biggest reasons for severe illness among the middle-aged, causing heart disease, liver disease, cancer and dementia. The report also found that:

Alcohol-related hospital admissions have risen 15 per cent to 338,000 a year;

Heavy drinkers aged 55 to 64 were the most likely to need treatment;

High-income households were the least likely to stick to alcohol guidelines;

Girls aged 11 to 15 are getting drunk more often than boys of the same age.

The Alcohol Information Partnership, which represents the drinks industry, said the figures showed the country’s ‘relationship’ with alcohol was changing.

‘More people are choosing to drink for pleasure, rather than to get drunk and for a great many of them the trend is toward choosing fewer, better quality drinks,’ a spokesman said.

‘This reflects a maturing relationship with

alcohol – the negative image of “Boozy Brits” is increasingly out of date.

‘To encourage this pattern of sensible drinking across the board, we need to see more targeted measures which address the small minority of drinkers who drink to harmful levels and need to change their habits.’

Susannah Brown of the World Cancer Research Fund said the figures were a good start in the fight against excessive drinking. But she added: ‘While fewer people are drinking at harmful levels, the increase in alcohol-specific deaths shows that a culture shift is still needed for those who are.

‘Drinking alcohol is a cause of six different types of cancer, so we want to see governments do more to encourage and empower people to cut down on the amount of alcohol they drink by creating environments that make it easier to make healthier choices.

‘We advise not drinking alcohol – how-

‘A culture shift is still needed’

ever cutting down by having alcohol-free days each week, is a positive start.’

The 14-unit limit, established in 2016, allows for men and women to drink no more than the equivalent of a small, 150ml glass of wine a day.

yesterday’s report from NHS Digital showed that in 2011, 34 per cent of men and 18 per cent of women regularly exceeded that amount. But by 2017 – the most recent year for which figures are available – that had fallen to 28 per cent of men and 14 per cent of women.

Alcohol-related hospital admissions have risen 15 per cent over a decade to 338,000 a year. Almost a quarter of were for cancer, while a similar proportion involved accidental injuries.

The report suggested that although overall consumption appears to be falling, excess drinking is still a problem.

Those aged 55 to 64 were the most likely to have been admitted to hospital because of alcohol-related diseases and injuries. Higher income households were the most likely to exceed the 14-unit guidelines each week.

The figures showed that girls aged 11 to 15 were more likely to have been drunk in the past four weeks than boys of the same age.

Public health chiefs have launched a number of campaigns, including one urging regular drinkers to set a weekly target of two consecutive non- drinking days to improve health and avoid dependency.

last night a spokesman for NHS England said: ‘Alcohol addiction remains one of the biggest causes of ill health and early death, yet the right support can save lives.

‘The NHS long-term plan introduced new measures including expert teams to work in hospitals across the country providing timely care for alcohol- dependent patients and their families.’

Chris Snowden, of the Institute of Economic Affairs, a free-market think tank, said efforts should be focused on the worst drinkers instead of those who enjoyed the occasional tipple.

He said: ‘We have seen a big decline in alcohol consumption over the past 15 years, but this has not translated into better health outcomes.

‘It suggests that the “public health” approach of lowering average consumption in the hope that the heaviest drinkers will miraculously decide to consume less does not work.

‘Efforts to turn moderate drinkers into light drinkers are futile. It is the small minority of genuinely heavy drinkers who should be the focus of harm reduction.’

The uK now ranks 18th out of 44 countries for weekly alcohol consumption. It was 16th in 2000.