Brits and their 'booze culture' costing 20 billion pounds each year

In a new report on alcohol consumption in Britain the drinking culture there is being blamed for health, crime and disorder problems which cost the nation as much as 20 billion pounds each year.

The government has come up with a new strategy to promote sensible attitudes to alcohol and a campaign aimed at changing the view that drunkenness and anti-social behaviour are a normal part of life.

The campaign will target binge-drinkers and also older people who drink at home and alert them for the first time to the possible long-term health risks of a bottle or two of wine at home most evenings.

The national alcohol strategy also looks at happy hours and drink promotions and calls for all areas to draw up local plans to cut problem drinking.

Of particular concern are young people who go out aiming to get drunk at weekends, making themselves vulnerable, using unacceptable behaviour and causing trouble, along with risking their health.

The governments 'Safe Sensible Social' alcohol strategy hopes to promote a change of attitude, similar to that which occurred with drink-driving.

According to the report there are 7.1m "hazardous and harmful" drinkers in England, which cost the health economy £1.3bn, along with another 1.1m "dependent drinkers" which cost £403m.

The strategy was drawn up by the Home Office and the Department of Health, and wants more done about those selling alcohol to under-18s; it also calls for all alcoholic drinks labelled according to alcohol units by next year.

But this does not include drinks sold by the glass and the British Medical Association believes people need clearer guidelines and have called for posters displaying alcohol levels in drinks to be on display in bars.

Parents are advised to examine their own drinking habits, in order to see if they are a good role model and friends and relatives of problem drinkers are urged to "exert influence" to help them cut down.

The strategy supports more guidance on safe drinking levels for teenagers, parents and teachers, help lines for those who want to cut down, a review of NHS alcohol spending, and tougher punishments for drunken behaviour.

Alcohol referral schemes will also be introduced for alcoholics, in the same way that drug addicts are sent for compulsory counselling after being arrested.

Critics say the introduction of 24-hour drinking licensing laws in 2004 have encouraged excessive drinking and a pilot scheme should have been introduced prior to the change to assess the effects of the new laws.

They say the new strategy demonstrates that the British government has failed the public on alcohol abuse.

Some medical experts suggest alcohol should be more expensive and the legal age to buy it should be raised from 18 to 21.

A 'drink harm test' is now being piloted in north-east England as part of a brief intervention programme; GPs and nurses there screened more than 17,500 patients in around three months and identified almost 6,000 at-risk drinkers.

The simple test will tell you if your drinking habits could be damaging your health and those who score 3 or more are considered "hazardous and harmful drinkers".

To achieve that dubious title consuming eight drinks (six for women) once a week is enough to reach the threshold.

Those who do this monthly or less pass the initial stage of the test, which then moves on to three other questions.

These cover alcohol-induced amnesia, failing to do something because of drink or if anyone close to you has told you to cut back on booze.

Doctors and other professionals can use the test to identify people whose drinking could be a problem.

The test is not necessarily aimed at people suffering from chronic alcohol addiction but rather those who are over-indulging and putting their health at risk or engaging in anti-social behaviour.