South Yorks binge drinking shame

SOUTH Yorkshire has higher-than-average levels of binge drinking, a new study has shown.

A regional breakdown found men and women in Sheffield, Barnsley and Rotherham were all drinking above-safe limits compared to the national average.

Hospital admissions, and rates of death from alcohol, are higher in Barnsley and Rotherham compared to the average in the UK.

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South Yorkshire as a whole was average or close to average in most of the 22 categories assessed by the Centre for Public Health at Liverpool John Moores University.

Today Nicola Smith of the Alcohol Advisory Servi ce on Abbeydale Road in Sheffield said it is finally being recognised that drinking is not just an issue for teenagers, but middle-class wine drinkers could also be damaging their health.

"It can start with a glass and move to half a bottle, then a bottle of wine a night," said Nicola. "Tolerance creeps up. Drinking one or two glasses a night can be enough to be harmful."

The Abbeydale Road based services sees around 600 people a year but needs more resources to keep deal with requests for help.

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