Public health researchers have found 18.2% of adults binge drink more than double the daily recommended limit at least once a week.
In the north-east and north-west nearly a quarter of all adults consume double the limit in one or more drinking bouts each week. This is equivalent to four pints of beer or eight spirit measures in one session for men - three pints of beer, three glasses of wine or six spirit measures for women. Even in the most abstemious regions across eastern and southern England 16% of adults drink this amount or more, at least once a week.
The alcohol map was drawn up by the Centre for Public Health at Liverpool John Moores University and the North West Public Health Observatory.
It showed Newcastle, Liverpool and Durham as the capitals of binge drinking with more than 27% of adults admitting a spree at least once a week, compared with less than 10% in east Dorset.
The north-east and north-west had the most hospital admissions, 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.
Liverpool, Manchester and Middles brough had around 70% more admissions than the national average. Wokingham and West Berkshire had nearly 50% less.
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 to both youths and adults."
Source: The Guardian
Source: www.nwph.net/alcohol/lape/
Posted: 7th August 2006
