Happy hour – but how long will we be laughing?

Drinkers in the North East are killing themselves with alcohol. People living in the North are far more likely to binge-drink, be admitted to hospital for alcoho-related illnesses, and die younger than those elsewhere in the country.

The frightening statistics show more than a quarter – 26.7 per cent – of Wearsiders binge-drink, compared with a national average of just over 18 per cent.

Binge drinking is where adults consume double the daily recommended level of alcohol at least once a week.

Now, experts are warning Britain has gone from a nation which enjoys a harmless tipple, to one developing a dangerous alcohol addiction.

Although Sunderland's figure was frighteningly high, Durham was even worse, with the number of binge drinkers at 27.6 per cent.

The research, published by the Centre for Public Health at Liverpool John Moores University and the North West Public Health Observatory, is based on figures from 2004 to 2006.

When it came to hospital admissions for alcohol-related conditions, those in the North East and North West proved the biggest burden, with 1,100 men and 610 women admitted per 100,000 population in 2004/05.

This compared with less than 700 men and 400 women per 100,000 in the South East.

Middlesbrough was one of the worst areas, with more than 1,400 men admitted per 100,000 people – 70 per cent higher than England as a whole.

Across the country, the average cut in life expectancy because of drinking was 10 months for men and five months for women.
But in Sunderland, this rose to 11½ months for men and six-and-a-half months for women.

Professor Mark Bellis, director of the Centre for Public Health, said: "These profiles illustrate the growing costs of cheap alcohol, a night-time economy almost exclusively packed with bars and clubs and a failure to deliver a credible drinking message.

"Health agencies, police and schools all have major roles to play in reducing the damage caused by alcohol but so do the alcohol industry, employers and the general public."

Drink-related hospital admissions in England have reached record levels. Numbers admitted to hospital with alcoholic liver disease have more than doubled over the past 10 years.

Shadow Home Secretary David Davis said: "This shows why it was wrong of the Government to unleash 24-hour drinking without a proper assessment of the consequences."

A Department of Health spokeswoman said: "The government is working hard to raise awareness about alcohol misuse and ensure that treatment is available to those who need it."

She pointed out that £217million a year was spent on alcohol treatment, with more than 60,000 people being treated by specialist alcohol services.

Drinkers 'are storing up future trouble'

Kevan Martin, founder member of a Sunderland-based alcohol group, said the latest figures are no surprise.

Kevan, chairman of the North East Regional Alcohol Forum, said it was further evidence that 24-hour drinking should never have been introduced to the UK.

Kevan, a recovering alcoholic, said: "This just goes to show that it needs serious investigation by the Government on how to tackle alcohol-related illnesses.

"At the moment just one in 102 people suffering from serious illnesses caused by excessive drinking are getting the treatment they need and even then there is a nine-month waiting list.

"One of the people I work with came to me and said the doctor had put her on a nine-month waiting list for her liver complaint, but I don't think she will last nine months without treatment."

Kevan says youngsters need to be aware that binge drinking now will have serious consequences in years to come.

He said: "It is a terrible situation, where we have young people going out with the intention of getting hammered and they are giving their liver a serious battering.

"They don't feel it now, but within five or 10 years they will know the consequences. We have young people in their mid-20s in hospital and their livers are almost destroyed."

Kevan said most people don't realise alcohol is more addictive than any other drug, including heroin, and yet parents still allow their under-age children to drink.

Kevan said binge drinking was just one of the alcohol-related problems that needed to be addressed.

He said: "It is not just the people who are going out and getting drunk on a Friday and Saturday night. There are the people who drink excessively at home seven nights a week. Research shows that 86 per cent of people with an alcohol problem drink at home."

Brewer blames cheap ales at supermarkets

Brewer Scottish & Newcastle says supermarkets it supplies are fuelling binge-drinking with cheap deals.

The region's biggest brewer says the "big four" – Asda, Tesco, Morrisons and Sainsbury's – sell alcohol at a loss to get people into their stores.

S&N made the claims while giving evidence to a Government inquiry into supermarket chains.

Its submission to the Competition Commission reads: "We strongly believe the sale of alcoholic drinks at low cost, used primarily to drive 'footfall' into stores, is not consistent with the promotion of responsible drinking.

"There is now anecdotal evidence that drinkers are consuming cheap alcohol at home before a night out, and then topping up at pubs or bars."

Andrew Opie, the British Retail Consortium's director of food and consumer policy, rejected the claims.

He said: "Our members sell responsibly and their customers enjoy responsibly. We don't believe cheap beer is leading to irresponsible behaviour."

Sunderland Today