MORE than 15 people a day are being admitted to hospital in the Lothians because of alcohol abuse and cases are on the rise.
Latest government figures show there were 5523 people admitted by NHS Lothian for alcohol-related illnesses last year – an increase of 400 on the year before and 1000 on ten years ago.
FLAT OUT: 5523 people were admitted by NHS Lothian for alcohol-related illnesses last year – an increase of 400 on 2005
The statistics today led to calls from campaigners to do more to tackle alcohol addiction.
Tom Wood, spokesman for the Edinburgh Action Team on Drugs and Alcohol, said: "These figures don't surprise me, but they do horrify me. This is a ticking timebomb, and the cost of it will be a price we cannot afford to pay.
"All these figures show us is we need to redouble our efforts. It's too early to say if initiatives in recent years have made an impact because you're talking about a drinking culture that has developed over 30 years, so it'll take at least ten years before we see a difference.
"Whether someone has been taken to hospital because of a one-off incident, or because of years of alcohol abuse, it doesn't matter which way you cut it, we have a big problem on our hands."
In Edinburgh itself, nine people a day are admitted because of alcohol, up by around 100 from last year, while in Midlothian just over one a day is taken in.
The sharpest rise has been in West Lothian, where almost 1300 people were hospitalised last year, up by around 250 from the year before. In East Lothian, 581 were taken in, up marginally from 2005/6.
Dr Dermot Gorman, an NHS Lothian public health consultant, said: "These figures indicate that the number of people with alcohol issues is rising in Lothian as in the rest of Scotland.
"NHS Lothian is working with GPs and other primary care staff to offer support to people to help them control their alcohol use.
"We would urge everyone to follow the government's guidelines on sensible drinking.
"These are that men should not drink more than 21 units a week and not more than four units a day. Women should drink less than 14 units a week and not more than three units a day."
Lisa Falconer, an accident and emergency nurse at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, said that hospital staff noticed alcohol-related issues far more frequently than at any other time of year.
She said: "Naturally, staff within the emergency department expect to see an increase in alcohol-related attendances over the festive period.
"Worryingly, the age range tends to broaden at this time of year, more noticeably with the underage drinking which causes considerable concern."
Counting the cost of youth alcohol abuseTHE number of cases of youngsters under the age of 15 being admitted to hospital because of alcohol rose by almost ten per cent last year.
Official statistics showed that across Scotland in 2006-07 there were 428 instances where under-15s were discharged from hospital with an alcohol-related diagnosis.
That is up by almost ten per cent from the previous year.
The figures also showed that in 2006-07, general hospitals treated 41,651 cases across Scotland where patients had a drink-related condition.
That compares to a total of 30,562 in 1997-98. The figures for 2006-07 also showed men are much more likely than women to need treatment as a result of drinking.
Health minister Shona Robison said the figures showed "the massive health and social cost of alcohol misuse in Scotland".
She said: "Far too large a proportion of Scottish adults drink far too much.
"We want people to think about their consumption and take responsibility for it."
Ms Robison insisted a long-term strategic approach was needed and said the Scottish Government was taking action.
Nine admit taking heroin at under 15AT least nine Lothian drug addicts began injecting heroin when they were under 15-years-old, it emerged today.
They included at least two schoolchildren in Edinburgh and West Lothian who began injecting at 13, before seeking help from the health services.
Today, drug groups working with youngsters in the Capital expressed shock and said such young teenagers more commonly had problems with alcohol than heroin.
The shocking Scottish Government figures on drug misuse also revealed the cost of treating Lothian addicts with methadone has more than doubled in the last four years to £28 million-a-year.
John Arthur, manager of the Edinburgh-based Crew 2000 drug support agency, described the young drug addicts as "exceptional cases".
He said: "You may get the occasional case
but we certainly don't see anyone that young coming to us for advice or help with heroin."
Of 333 drug addicts treated in Edinburgh and West Lothian last year, three per cent were under 15 when they began injecting - in both areas, the youngest was 13.
Tom Wood, head of Action on Alcohol and Drugs in Edinburgh, said he saw "one or two tragic cases" every year of young people using heroin because of family or neighbourhood connections.
He said: "To be that young and on heroin is very exceptional but it is a tiny minority when considered against the other cases in Edinburgh every year."
The statistics also revealed the oldest of the 254 injecting addicts seeking help in Edinburgh was 49.
They also show there were 62,425 methadone prescriptions issued last year - nearly double the number of prescriptions handed out in 2002/3 when 34,877 were given.
Dr Alison McCallum, director of public health and health policy with NHS Lothian, said government policy was to increase the number of people receiving treatment.
