A quarter of Britons are 'hazardous' drinkers

Almost a quarter of Britons are "hazardous drinkers" and hundreds of thousands more are being admitted to hospital for alcohol-related reasons when compared to five years ago, according to official figures.

The statistics showed that 33 per cent of men and 16 per cent of women drank potentially dangerous amounts, the National Health Service Information Centre said.

Another six per cent of men and two per cent of women were harmful drinkers. "Hazardous drinking" was defined as consumption which could bring about the risk of physical or psychological harm, while "harmful drinking" was described as likely to cause problems.

The report is the latest to show that many Britons consume too much alcohol, causing health problems and the suspicion it has led to rises in anti-social behaviour and violence.

The government estimates that alcohol-related injuries and illnesses costs the state health system around £2.7 billion a year.

The latest figures showed there were 863,300 alcohol-related admissions to hospital in 2007, an increase of 69 per cent from five years earlier, 2002.

The number of deaths directly linked to alcohol was also up to 6,541, a rise of 19 per cent since 2001, with liver disease the biggest killer.

The British government has been running a series of information campaigns to warn about the dangers of excessive drinking, with official figures showing 37 per cent of adults regularly exceed the recommended daily maximum units of alcohol.

But the opposition Conservatives say the government has not done enough. It is a strong critic of the 2005 decision to allow round-the-clock drinking in bars.