HEALTH: Alcohol dependency is number one drug addiction

Twice as many people are dependent on alcohol in Britain as on all other drugs put together, a new report from the charity Alcohol Concern, published yesterday, says.

About one person in 20 people is dependent on alcohol, compared with one in 45 who is hooked on drugs, the report reveals. Its other key findings include the fact that there are 33,000 alcohol-related deaths each year; that around 28,000 hospital admissions are due to alcohol dependence or poisoning; that 1.3 million men and 500,000 women drink at very risky levels (over 50 units a week for men and 35 for women); and that alcohol problems cost British industry pounds 2bn a year. The report calls for a national alcohol strategy to tackle the associated problems.

Measures for Measures, available free from Alcohol Concern,

Tel: 0171-928 7377.