Prescriptions for alcohol dependency have risen more than 60% in eight years as the cost of alcohol abuse to the NHS soars, official figures show.

Cutting the amount we drink to just over half a unit a day could save 4,600 lives a year in England, according to a modelling study by Oxford University researchers published in the journal BMJ Open.

Reducing daily alcohol intake could prevent 4,600 deaths every year, including more than 2,600 from cancer, experts from Oxford University have said. Cutting daily alcohol intake to just over half a unit, or 5g, could reduce deaths fro

The Government is looking at how other countries put minimum prices on drinks but Justice Minister Judith Collins says making alcohol more expensive won't necessarily curb binge boozing.