Profile of alcohol and health in Wales published

A new profile providing a detailed look at the impact of alcohol on health in Wales has been produced by the Wales Centre for Health with the National Public Health Service for Wales (NPHS). It contains information taken from several data sources and includes statistics on subjects including underage drinking, alcohol-related deaths, drinking during pregnancy, binge drinking and hospital admissions related to alcohol.

Key results include the finding that 1,000 people die from causes attributed to alcohol in Wales each year, with alcohol being a factor in more than four per cent of male deaths. The report reveals that in a comparison with 40 other countries, Wales has the highest number of 13-year-olds who say they have been drunk at least twice - 27% of boys and 26% of girls.

It also reveals that people living in deprived areas of Wales are three times more likely to die of a cause related to alcohol than those living in the least deprived areas. Other statistics included in the report show that each year in Wales, an average of 8,400 males and 4,500 of females are admitted to hospital due to alcohol, amounting to 1.5% of all hospital admissions.

Hospital admissions related to alcohol also vary between local authority areas, with Blaenau Gwent consistently showing the highest number of such admissions.