The number of patients needing hospital treatment for drinking too much has more than doubled in 11 years, shocking new figures reveal.
Official data showed there were 207,788 NHS hospital admissions in England in 2006/07 with a primary or secondary diagnosis related to alcohol.
This figure, relating to all age groups, has more than doubled from the 93,459 recorded in 1995/96.
It is also up 7% on the 193,637 figure for 2005/06.
The data was released by the NHS Information Centre for health and social care.
A breakdown showed there were 57,142 NHS hospital admissions with a primary diagnosis specifically related to alcohol in 2006/07.
This number has risen by 52% since 1995/96. Of these admissions, 4,888 (9%) involved youngsters under the age of 18.
In 2007, 112,267 prescription items for drugs for treating alcohol dependency were also prescribed by doctors, the data showed.
This is an increase of 20% since 2003, when 93,241 items were prescribed.
Shadow health secretary Andrew Lansley said: “Helping people to live healthily hasn’t been a priority for Labour and these figures show the consequences.
“These cases put enormous pressure on an already over-stretched NHS. It is particularly worrying that so many under 18s are ending up in hospital because they’ve had too much to drink.
“Tackling issues like excessive drinking is a social responsibility in which we all have a part to play.
“But Labour have raided budgets for the promotion of healthy living to meet deficits in the NHS. The Government has failed to show the leadership and cultural change we need.”
Today’s report showed that, in 2007, 69% of Britons said they had heard of the Government guidelines on alcohol consumption. Of these, 40% said that they did not know what the recommendations were.
A total of 38% of adults in 2007 had seen units of alcohol displayed on labels of alcoholic drinks, compared with 23% in 2000.
A spokesman for Alcohol Concern said: “The new figures showing a rise in alcohol-related hospital admissions confirm everything we’ve heard from the frontline staff who deal with the after effects of heavy drinking.
“What is however particularly dispiriting is the news that the number of people who aren’t familiar with the recommended limits has actually gone up.
“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.”