And nearly 1-in-10 of these are now teenagers. There were 207,788 NHS hospital admissions in England related to alcohol in 2006/07 across all age groups – more than double the 93,459 figures for 1995/96.

Of these, almost one in 10 (4,888) involved youngsters under the age of 18 and more than two-thirds (69%) involved men.

The most common reason for admission among this group was for mental and behavioural disorders due to drinking; the second most common reason for admission was alcohol-related liver disease.