A quarter of adults in England are hazardous drinkers

“An estimated quarter of adults are at risk of damaging their mental or physical health because of their drinking habit.” Tim Straughan

One in three men and one in six women – a quarter of all adults in England – are estimated to be hazardous drinkers, says a new report from The NHS Information Centre.

In 2007, the drinking habits of 33% of men and 16% of women were classed as hazardous, which means their established drinking patterns put them at risk of physical and psychological harm. 6% of men and 2% of women were estimated to be harmful drinkers, the most serious form of hazardous drinking, which means they are likely to suffer physical or mental harm, such as liver disease or depression.

The report ‘Statistics on Alcohol: England, 2009’, brings different information on alcohol together from a variety of sources. It also includes figures on drinking dependence that allow a comparison between 2000 and 2007 to be made. The report estimates that in 2007 9% of men and 4% of women showed some sign of alcohol dependence. The figure for men is slightly lower than in 2000 when 11.5% of men showed signs of drinking dependence. The figure for women is not signifi cantly different from 2000.

The report also shows:

The annual number of alcohol-related admissions to hospital in England rose by nearly 70% in fi ve years, to reach just over 863,000 in 2007/8. These fi gures use a new methodology refl ecting a substantial change in the way the impact of alcohol on hospital admissions is calculated. Previously, the calculation counted only admissions for reasons specifically related to alcohol. The new calculation, for which the methodology is described in the report, includes a proportion of the admissions for reasons that are not always related to alcohol, but can be in some instances (such as accidental injury). In England in 2007, 34,429 prescription items for drugs for the treatment of alcohol dependency were prescribed in primary care or NHS hospitals and dispensed in the community. This is an increase of 31% since 2003, when there were 102,741 prescription items.

The report also includes survey information about attitudes to alcohol. It estimates that, in 2007, 17% of school pupils aged 11 to 15 thought it was okay to get drunk at least once a week. However, the proportion of pupils who have never had a proper alcoholic drink was 46% in 2007, compared to 39% in 2003. NHS Information Centre Chief Executive, Tim Straughan, said: “An estimated quarter of adults are at risk of damaging their mental or physical health because of their drinking habit. The report shows a significant amount of people are at risk of actual harm to themselves, which in turn results in more work for the NHS.”

A copy of the report ‘Statistics on Alcohol: England, 2009’ can be downloaded at:
http://www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/alcohol09