Dangers of drink

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October 12, 2012 by agrimshaw

Kent has more hospital admissions for alcohol than anywhere else in the South East, shocking figures out today reveal.

Canterbury is a city that has a lot of pubs and clubs and two Universities, some locals believe young people are to blame for the high figures.

Flo Hurley, Landlady at the Seven Stars pub told CC: “It is all part of the drinking culture of students and most don’t know the dangers of drinking.”

Between 2010-11 Kent saw 236,736 people admitted for drinking too much, with Medway notching up 41,356 admissions. That compares with the regional average of 70,574

In Medway, the figures for 16-24-year-olds were 308 in-patient admissions; 2,067 for those aged 55-74 and 1,229 for drinkers aged over 74.

Cheap drink deals – Encouraging excessive alcohol consumption?

“Young people can not take all the blame, it is also to do with discounted drink in supermarkets, for example the cheap prices in which large amounts are sold in supermarkets and the ridiculously cheap prices of drinks in nightclubs,” Ms Hurley added.

The ‘pre-drink’ culture of young people is said to be a factor related to the high figures and identifying those who have had ‘too-much to drink’ can be a challenge.

“At our pub and others in this area, we are aware of who to let in and not to let in the pub but sometimes you don’t know

what some people have drank before they walk in, its tough.” said Ms Hurley.

Canterbury Christ Church University student, Dan Oldfield said: “I am surprised by that statistic, but believe it is a mixture of all those elements, highlighting the problem and dealing with it is very difficult. If an individual is going to get drunk then they will do so no matter the restrictions.”

By Simon Banks

@SiBanksy