MORE 'ADDICTED TO ALCOHOL THAN DRUGS'

Twice as many people are addicted to alcohol than to all other drugs,
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.

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 UKP1m is spent on
alcohol prevention and treatment each year in England and Wales, compared
with an expenditure of UKP91.45 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 UKP227m a year to advertise its products and the
government nets UKP11.5bn per annum in tax revenue from alcohol sales.

Studies carried out in the UK have shown that alcohol misuse costs the NHS
up to UKP3bn a year - between 2% and 12% of total NHS hospital expenditure.

Further costs to society include UKP3bn a year from sickness and
absenteeism from work, premature deaths, accidents and alcohol-related crime.

SIDEBAR

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