A sharp increase in the number of people drinking themselves to death in England was revealed in official figures yesterday. The government's Information Centre for Health and Social Care said deaths from alcoholic liver disease rose by 37% in the five years to 2004, with 4,000 people dying.
The number admitted to hospital with alcohol-related liver disease more than doubled over the past decade. Admissions in 2004-05 were a record 35,400, compared with 14,400 in 1995-96. About two-thirds of them were men.
More people are also turning up at A&E with alcohol poisoning. In 2004-05 about 21,700 of them had to be admitted for further care, compared with 13,600 a decade earlier. Alcohol was also damaging the nation's mental health. About 126,000 people with mental or behavioural disorders resulting from alcohol abuse were admitted for in-patient care in 2004-05, compared with 72,500 in 1995-06.
The centre said binge drinking was most prevalent among young people, with 33% of men and 24% of women aged 16- 24 drinking more than double the recommended number of units on one day in the previous week.
Denise Lievesley, the centre's chief executive, said: "This report shows that we cannot underestimate the effect of alcohol on health. By presenting this data we hope health professionals will be better equipped to ... raise awareness of the dangers of alcohol misuse."
Among 45- to 64-year-olds, the trend is for smaller amounts drunk regularly, on five or more days of the week.
The average amount consumed across the age groups doubled between 1990 and 2000 to 10.4 units a week, and has remained at this level for the past five years.
But if the English drink too much, their habit is not as excessive as those of people in other parts of the EU. According to World Health Organisation figures for 2001, Luxembourg headed the consumption table, with an average resident drinking 17.54 litres of alcohol each year. Britain came halfway up the table on 10.39 litres.
The weekend is England's favourite time for drinking. A third of drinkers under 44 and a quarter of those aged 45-64 said they drank most on Saturdays. Sundays are preferred by the over-64s.
The Department of Health said: "We know that alcohol misuse has a devastating effect on millions of lives each year. That is why we are working with the drinks industry, police and health professionals to increase awareness of the dangers of excessive drinking and make the sensible drinking message easier to understand."
The Salvation Army said: "We are not surprised, as alcohol has never been more easily available in the UK. As well as the cost to the NHS, there is a tragic human cost which extends beyond the individual to impact on their families and communities."
The shadow health secretary, Andrew Lansley, said the government should do more to tackle binge drinking. "It is deeply concerning that the number of alcohol-related illnesses has doubled in a decade.
"The government's failure to adequately address binge drinking, and the ill-thought-through 24-hour licensing policy, will do nothing to help the situation."
