Statistics of alcohol addiction

Drinking statistics for Great Britain

• 1 in 25 people in Britain are dependent on alcohol – twice as many as are dependent on drugs.
• 1.4 million men (6%), and half a million women (2%) are drinking at very risky levels (over 50 units a week for men, and over 35 units a week for women)
• There are approx. 33,000 alcohol related deaths a year in GB
• Alcohol is involved in 15% of traffic deaths, 26% of drownings, and 39% of deaths in fires.
• There were over 28,000 hospital admissions in the year 1994-5 due to alcohol dependence or the toxic effects of alcohol.
• About 65% of suicide attempts are linked to heavy drinking
• Alcohol is a factor in 40% of domestic violence incidents
• Alcohol is a factor in a third of child abuse cases
• Heavy drinking is a common factor in family-break up. Marriages where one or both partners has a drink problems are twice as likely to end in divorce.
• Offender or victim have been drinking in 65% of murders and 75& of stabbing
• Up to 14 million working days are lost each year due to alcohol-related problems (and alcohol-related problems cost British industry an estimated £2 billion a year). NHS costs are £150 million annually
• Drink-related traffic crime costs £50 million a year.