ALCOHOL ABUSE COSTS UK OVER POUNDS 3.3BN PER YEAR

HARD drinking is costing Britain pounds 3.3bn a year, according to a report
published today.

The lion's share - pounds 2.8bn - is lost by industry through sickness
absence, unemployment and premature death as a result of alcohol abuse,
according to the Alcohol Concern report.

Another pounds 200m is swallowed up by treatment received for drink-related
illnesses on the National Health Service, while road accidents where drink
is a factor account for a further pounds 189m.

Criminal activity linked with alcohol abuse costs the taxpayer another
pounds 68m.

The report, entitled Britain's Ruin, points out the stark contrast between
these vast sums and the pounds 1.69m which is currently spent on research
aimed at countering these problems.

It also highlights a 50% increase over the past two years in the number of
women drinking above the recommended daily amount, a far larger jump than
the 10 to 15% increase recorded between 1988 and 1998.

More than a third of men and 23% of women aged between 16 and 24 regularly
drink twice the recommended daily amounts.

Other worrying findings link alcohol with 65% of suicide attempts, 76,000
facial injuries and 23% of child neglect calls to national helplines.

Marriages where one or both partners have a drink problem are twice as
likely to end in divorce as those not affected by alcohol. Between 60% and
70% of men who assault their partners do so under the influence of drink.

And some 41% of violent crimes, including assaults and muggings, are
committed by somebody who has been drinking. Another alarming trend
identified by the study is the growing problem of alcohol abuse involving
children.

Among youngsters aged between 11 and 15 who drink, the mean weekly
consumption has risen from 5.3 units in 1990 to 9.9 units two years ago.

Alcohol also has a negative effect on sexual behaviour, making people much
less responsible. After drinking, one in seven of 16 to 24-year-olds had
unprotected sex, one in five had sex they later regretted, and 10% could
not even remember if they had sex the previous night.

Four out of 10, 13 and 14-year-olds were "drunk or stoned" when they had
their first sexual experience.

Heavy drinking is associated with 39% of fires, 15% of drownings and 37% of
pedestrians killed on the roads have drunk over the drink-drive limit.