Alcohol abuse is a significant problem in the UK, contributing to divorce, violence, crime, lost work days, health issues, and suicide. One third of divorces involve alcohol abuse by one or both partners. Thirteen thousand alcohol-related violent incidents occur outside of bars and pubs each week. Alcohol plays a role in many social ills including domestic violence, child abuse, murders, and school exclusions. While drinking may seem fun, it often has serious negative consequences.

1. Alcohol abuse: UK facts
Do you think drinking is fun?

2. Alcohol features in almost a third of all UK
divorce petitions, which means one or both
partner's drinking habits have contributed
to the bust up.

3. 13,000 violent incidents take place outside
UK bars, pubs or licensed premises, every
week. Most are alcohol-related.

4. Recent reports suggest that almost 50% of
all British teenagers know how to buy
bootlegged alcohol that has been smuggled
into the country.

5. Up to 65% of all suicides involve alcohol.

6. In 24% of Child Abuse cases, heavy drinking
is a factor

7. 70% of murders are linked with alcohol and
33% of murder victims were drunk at the
time they were killed.

8. Alcohol related reasons and excuses are
responsible for roughly 14 million lost
working days in the UK every year.

9. Alcohol robs your body of vitamin B
complex, a vital group of nutrients,
deficiency of which can cause skin damage,
diarrhoea and depression.

10. Booze is believed to feature as a reason
behind 25% of all school exclusions in the
UK.

11. Women may find their reaction to booze is
affected by hormone level changes that
occur during the menstrual cycle.

12. •
An average 12% of males and 7% of females
in the 16-19 age group show signs of
alcohol dependency
(source: Office of Population and Census Surveys).

13. Booze features in almost 40% of all
domestic violence incidents in the UK.

14. Every Christmas in the UK, 10,000 people
seek help for alcohol-related problems

15. Do you still think drinking is fun?