Research commissioned by the Department of Health shows estimates of how life expectancy would change in each local authority area if all alcohol-attributable deaths were prevented.

It shows men in Doncaster are dying 11.4 months earlier than they should do because of booze.

Men in Barnsley are losing 11.5 months, those in Rotherham are losing 10.1 months and Sheffield men are drinking away 8.1 months.

Doncaster women are dying 4.5 months early because of booze and those in Sheffield are losing 3.9 months of their lives. Women in Barnsley are losing 6.6 months, while those in Rotherham are losing 4.8 months.

The figures come in the wake of new government statistics which estimate the cost to the NHS of alcohol abuse at £2.7 billion and reveal that up to six per cent of all NHS admissions may be drink-related.

Nationally, more than 800,000 people a year are being admitted to hospital with alcohol-related injuries and illnesses which include cancer, heart disease and stroke caused by drink.

University of Sheffield researchers blame the availability of cheap alcohol on the rise in alcohol consumption.

In Barnsley, 5.7 per cent of the population engage in "harmful drinking" - defined as drinking more than 50 units of alcohol per week for men, and more than 35 units of alcohol per week for women.

In 2006/7, 4,198 people in Barnsley were admitted to hospital due to alcohol-related harm - a rate of 1,633 per 100,000 people and the fourth highest rate in the Yorkshire and Humber region.

There were 5,530 people in Doncaster admitted to hospital with alcohol-related problems, 6,480 in Sheffield and 4,419 in Rotherham.

Public health chiefs are trying to raise awareness of the dangers exceeding recommended limits will cause to their health.

Recommended alcohol levels for men are no more than 21 units a week and 14 units for women.

Traditionally one unit is a small glass of wine, a half a pint of beer or a pub measure of spirits.

But the availability of cheap and stronger alcohol, served in bigger glasses means people may be unaware that they are exceeding the limits and raising their risk not only of liver disease, but also of heart disease, cancer and stroke.

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