ACS

The true scale of binge drinking among teenagers was laid bare last night as official figures revealed more than 160 children a week end up in hospital for drink problems.

The number of under 18s being admitted to hospital through alcohol was 8,494 in 2007 - no fewer than 23 a day, a rise of more than 50 per cent.

Binge drinking is now so serious among young people that thousands of young teenagers are regularly downing six pints of beer a week, the highest level ever recorded.

A shock new report reveals that those 11 to 15-year-olds who admit to drinking knock back an average of 11.4 units a week - equivalent to nearly two bottles of wine or almost 12 shots of whisky.

Over all age groups, the numbers ending up in hospital because of drink has more than doubled. There were 207,788 NHS hospital admissions linked to alcohol in 2007, more than twice the 93,459 recorded in 1996. In the last year alone there has been a 7 per cent rise in the number of admissions.

Doctors are warning they are seeing more and more people in their 20s and 30s suffering from alcoholic liver disease - a condition previously only seen in the middle aged.

Charities and politicians blamed the bleak statistics on the Government's attitude to alcohol, which has seen licensing laws liberalised to allow drinking round the clock, and its failure to tackle supermarkets who sell alcohol at 'pocket money' levels.

Professor Roger Williams, one of the country's leading addiction experts who treated footballer George Best, said: "What the supermarkets do is monstrous. By making alcohol a loss leader they provide alcohol incredibly cheaply and people can get hold of it any time, day or night. Pouring out drink at cheap prices gives children easy access to alcohol at prices they can afford on pocket money."

Dr Vivienne Nathanson, head of science and ethics at the British Medical Association, said: "This is the first in what is bound to be a series of highly worrying statistics, unless we tackle alcohol misuse among young people. Binge drinking is leading to people suffering from serious liver disease at a much earlier stage in their lives."

The report from the NHS Information Centre showed that last year there were 57,142 hospital admissions with a 'primary' diagnosis specifically related to alcohol, such as alcohol-related mental disorders, liver disease and alcohol poisoning. Around one in 10 of these cases were among the under 18s.

Tim Straughan, chief executive of the NHS Information Centre, said: "This report shows alcohol is placing an increasing burden right across the NHS - from the GP surgery to the hospital bed. These rises paint a worrying picture about the relationship between the population and the bottle."

Drinkers aged 11 to 15 consume an average of 11.4 units per week - almost six pints of beer a week - the highest figure ever recorded. 30 per cent of 15 year olds said it was fine to get drunk at least once a week, according to a poll of 8,000 teenagers.

A spokesman for Alcohol Concern said: "The Government needs to shape a response that meets the challenges thrown up by this bulletin. Information campaigns are a great first step, but we also need urgent investment in treatment systems that help steer problem drinkers away from harmful behaviour before they develop chronic conditions."