PEOPLE who abuse drugs in Malvern get more help than those who abuse alcohol, say experts.

Statistics produced by the Worcestershire Drug and Alcohol Action Team (DAAT) show there are 24,910 ‘higher risk drinkers’ in Worcestershire.

However, help for alcohol abuse is still described as the ‘poor cousin’ of services offered to people addicted to class A drugs like heroin and crack.

Higher-risk drinkers are defined as drinkers consuming between 35 and 50 plus units a week while estimates suggest there are 79,497 “increasing risk drinkers”

(drinkers who consume between 15 and 50 units a week).

The issue came under the microscope during a meeting of the Adult Care and Well Being overview and scrutiny panel at County Hall in Worcester.

Chris Kelly, partnership manager of Worcestershire DAAT, which has an £8 million a year budget said: “The one thing we have identified is the increasing of alcohol misuse and alcohol dependency and also the fact that alcohol has been the poor cousin to the class A substance misuse agenda.”

The spending on drugs is still split 60 to 40 per cent in favour of drugs even though she said there were now people in their early 20s who are hospital inpatients suffering cirrhosis of the liver However, she said alcohol was now an important part of the public health agenda but said it was also important not to lose focus on the use of illicit drugs and over the counter medication.

Also, young drinkers tend to get their alcohol from their parents rather than shops with sales to underage people falling according to Debbie Herbert, DAAT programme lead for alcohol.

She added: “Most retailers are sensible applying controls over who buys the alcohol but anecdotally we’re getting told that it’s the parental supply and siblings and older friends buying the alcohol for younger people.”

She said there were also increasing numbers of people who are middle-aged and older who are drinking, including professionals and those who have suffered bereavement.