Alcohol Awareness week 2017 – week 1

The Christmas season is coming which means in some case’s more alcohol will be drank, here are some facts on alcohol to remind you to drink within your limits this season.

Did you know that alcohol is linked to over 60 medical conditions? Harms from alcohol go much further than the liver, it can cause high blood pressure and is also linked to diabetes, depression and cancer.

I will be posting some alcohol related statistics once a week around the Christmas period, here are the first set of fact’s…

Alcohol statistics

7% of adults in England regularly drink over the Chief Medical Officer’s low-risk guidelines, and 2.5 million people report drinking over 14 units on their heaviest drinking days.

In 2016, 21% of the population reported not drinking at all and overall consumption has fallen by around 18% since 2004.

In the UK, in 2015 there were 8,758 alcohol-related deaths (around 14 per 100,000 people). The mortality rates are highest among people aged 55-64.

In England, there are an estimated 595,131 dependent drinkers, of whom only 108,696 are currently accessing treatment.

Alcohol misuse is the biggest risk factor for death, ill-health and disability among 15-49 year-olds in the UK, and the fifth biggest risk factor across all ages.

Alcohol harms are estimated to cost the NHS around £3.5 billion annually.

While the price of alcohol has increased by 36% since 2005, it remains 60% more affordable than it was in 1980.