Most Britons ‘harmed by other people’s drinking’

The majority of people in the UK have been harmed in some way by another person's drinking, according to a new report.

Conducted by the University of Sheffield, the study indicated that 51 percent of people in Scotland and 78 percent of people in north-west England had experienced harm from another person's drinking, with most of these people reporting multiple types of harm.

One in five adults have been harassed or insulted on the street by someone who has been drinking, while others have felt threatened in public, been kept awake at night by drunken noise or experienced unwanted sexual advances.

The report therefore recommended that screening and brief advice should be provided to drinkers who are most at risk of causing harm to themselves and others, while better regulating the density of alcohol outlets and restricting trading times.

Other measures may include raising the price of the cheapest alcohol and lowering the legal drink-drive limit and introducing random roadside breath testing.

Lead author Dr Lucy Gell from the School of Health and Related Research at the University of Sheffield said: "We need to better record alcohol's harm to others across the health and social services and provide support services for those experiencing harm from other people's drinking."