Alcohol drinking down, but hospital admissions up

Those are among the findings from the latest ‘Statistics on Alcohol’, an annual report from the NHS and National Statistics. It revealed a continuation in the long-term downward trend of adults drinking in the week prior to being interviewed for the survey—from 75% of men and 59% of women in 1998, compared to 68% and 54% of women in 2010.

But the same year saw nearly 1.2 million alcohol-related admissions to hospital—up by 11% on the previous 12 months, and nearly twice as many as in 2002-3, though some of the increase may be down to changes in the way admissions are recorded. On a more narrow primary diagnosis basis—where the hospital admission is primarily attributable to consuming alcohol—the proportion rose 2.1% over the year, to 199,000 admissions.

The number of young people drinking also seems to be falling. Just 13% of secondary school pupils said they had drunk in the week prior to interview, compared to 18% a year earlier. And only 32% of pupils think it is OK for people of their age to drink once a week, compared to 46% seven years ago.

For more findings and to download the whole report, click here.