According to a new report, expenditure on NHS Stop Smoking Services has risen by nearly £10 million to £61 million in 2007/08.

The report also shows that over 680,000 people set a date to give up smoking through the NHS Stop Smoking Services in 2007/08, up 13% from the previous year. Of these, 52% managed to stay off cigarettes at the time of their four week follow-up.

The majority of people who tried to give up smoking used nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), while 14% received the smoking cessation drug varenicline (Champix).

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According to an article on the Guardian, the number of people admitted to hospital in England with mental illnesses linked to use of illegal drugs has doubled in the past decade. Figures show that 38,170 adults and children were admitted with drug-related mental and behavioural disorders in 2006-2007, an increase of 101% since 1996-1997.

Marjorie Wallace, chief executive of the mental health charity Sane, said: “More than twice as many young men were admitted as young women, which suggests men may be more likely to self-medicate with illicit drugs to manage their emotional distress.”

The figures show that men accounted for 79% of the 1,573 deaths from illicit drug use in England and Wales in 2006.

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According to an article in The Independent, Doctors have called for graphic images of diseased livers to be displayed on wine and spirits bottles and beer cans to warn of the dangers of binge-drinking. They also called for soft drinks to be made significantly cheaper than alcohol, and for labels showing alcohol units to be a mandatory requirement on bar taps and bottles.

Dr Raj Nirula, a urologist at the Princess of Wales Hospital, said “alcohol consumption has doubled since 1960, leading to more hospital admissions and associated crime. It is becoming an epidemic. The images should be in pubs and on bottles, on every single drink.”

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A new study has recently found that drinking or smoking heavily may accelerate the development of Alzheimer’s disease. According to the results, drinkers may develop the disease nearly five years earlier, while heavy smokers may develop it two years earlier. The study was conducted on 938 people aged 60 or more who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.

Ranjan Duara, of the Mount Sinai Medical Centre in Miami Beach, said the results were significant “because it’s possible that if we can reduce or eliminate heavy smoking and drinking, we could substantially delay the onset of Alzheimer’s disease for people and reduce the number of people who have Alzheimer’s at any point in time”.

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An investigation by The Independent on Sunday has revealed that a record number of children are in treatment for alcohol abuse. According to the findings, children as young as 10 are spending up to three years in treatment and the number of under-18s in alcohol treatment programmes has soared by 40% in the last year.

British teenagers are among the heaviest teenagers in Europe (along with Ireland and Denmark) and health professionals are particularly concerned about the number of girls drinking excessively and needing treatment. According to the findings, health professionals are also looking with concern at high profile celebrities who “appear to glamorise excessive boozing”.

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A new study has found that obstacles to quitting smoking differ with an individual’s age. Younger smokers reported a higher level of concern about weight gain and inability to manage stress compared with older smokers, and younger smokers also reported a higher level of concern about handling social situations and cravings.

Older smokers were more concerned by the health risks, while younger smokers were more likely to be worried about the cost. The report highlighted the different motivations for quitting, and stressed the need to address the different factors to help improve cessation rates for both younger and older smokers.

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A government health report has revealed that almost one in five children drink the equivalent of a bottle and a half of wine each week. The problem is particularly serious in the North-east and the report will put increased pressure on the Government to tackle the problem.

Experts believe the children are likely to have difficult home lives and need more help than they’re currently receiving. Once again the legal age for drinking has come into question, with many backing the plan to increase the age from 18 years to 21 years.

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A new study conducted at St Thomas’ Hospital in London compared overnight visits to A&E before the 24-hour drinking law was introduced, and after. Results showed that the new law may have trebled alcohol-related admissions in inner city areas. Critics believe this cannot be applied to the whole of England and Wales, however the researchers claim their study was representative of inner city areas across the country.

The researchers did accept that one of the reasons for this increase could be due to the increased awareness among A&E doctors about alcohol related problems. A spokesman for Alcohol Concern said “It was always unlikely that a change in opening hours alone was going to move us to a continental style of drinking”.

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According to statistics, alcohol-related deaths for men have doubled since 1993. In 2005, 3,884 men died from alcohol-related diseases, up from 1,776 men in 1993. However these figures only relate to death certificates, and charities have suggested the real figure is more likely to be around 22,000.

The Government launched The Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy in 2004 to improve early identification and treatment of alcohol problems, however the charity Alcohol Concern said the plan “lacked muscle”.

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According to an article on the BBC News Website there is talk of raising the legal drinking age from 18 to 21. Statistics show that alcohol-related illnesses have doubled in the last ten years to 262,844 cases per year and that people suffering injuries due to too much alcohol consumption has again doubled to 148,477 a year.

There has also been a 20% rise in hospital admissions from underage drinkers misusing alcohol. The UK has one of the worst problems in Europe with one in five children aged 11-15 drinking at least once a week.

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A national survey has found that the number of teenagers drinking alcohol and using drugs in England is falling. Government ministers have commented that these results were “encouraging”, but vowed to cut the numbers further. The survey of 8,200 11 to 15 year olds found:

Caroline Flint, public health minister said, “Despite these promising figures, we are not complacent - just one young person smoking or misusing alcohol or drugs is one too many.” The government also plans to raise the legal age that individuals can but tobacco products from 16 to 18 years.

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The Office For National Statistics have revealed figures for drink-related death rates in the UK between 1991 and 2004. An article on the BBC website discussing these figures states that 75% of the areas with the highest male alcohol-related death rates were in Scotland. Apparently men and women in Scotland are twice as likely to die an alcohol related death than people in the UK as a whole.

In 2005 there were 2,372 alcohol related deaths in Scotland – that’s a 72% increase since 1995. A new action plan has been published by the Scottish Executive to tackle alcohol abuse.

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According to an article on the BBC, individuals claiming incapacity benefit because of mental illness has hit an all time high of £1.1m. The government said spending on mental health had risen by 25% in five years.

Figures show that claimants are now younger and more likely to be female and that drug and alcohol problems, eating disorders, stress and depression are increasingly becoming reasons for claims.

Spending more money on early intervention in mental health services was suggested to save money spent on benefits.

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Research has found that women binge drinkers were more likely to be clinically depressed than men binge drinkers. It is not yet clear whether drinking leads to depression or depression leads to drinking, however the link between the two is significant.

The research was conducted on 6,009 men and 8,054 women by US and Canadian researchers. Moderate drinking was found not to increase the risk of depression in either sex and the difference between men and women was only noticed in those suffering from clinical depression.

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According to the Office for National Statistics, the amount of men drinking over the ‘sensible’ daily limit has fallen from 39% in 2004 to 35% last year, and the official figures show the amount of women has fallen from 24% to 22%.

As to whether the licensing laws being relaxed towards the end of last year have had an effect on these figures remains unclear, however another ONS survey did reveal that public knowledge of recommended limits and measurements continues to increase.

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