Alcohol drinkers in Wales 'cause harm to 60% of people'

More than half of adults in Wales have been harmed by other people's drinking, a survey has suggested.

Public Health Wales' (PHW) report said 60% of those surveyed had suffered due to someone else who had been drinking.

One in five had felt physically threatened, 11% had their property damaged and 5% had been assaulted.

Andrew Misell of Alcohol Concern Cymru said it was "time to ask whether we want alcohol to play such a prominent part in so many areas of life".

The Alcohol's Harms to Others report, carried out by PHW in conjunction with Liverpool John Moores University, surveyed 1,071 people aged 18 or over across Wales.

Prof Mark Bellis of PHW said: "Some of these harms are due to drunken violence but others result from accidents, threats or even financial problems when too much household income goes on one person's drinking."

According to the report, the majority of problems caused by others were drinkers known to the victim, with friends, family or partners accounting for almost 60% of cases.

Some of the harm suffered by people in the survey included having to call the police, having a serious argument or personally drinking to cope.

Dr Zara Quigg, reader in behavioural epidemiology at the Public Health Institute, Liverpool John Moores University, said: "Identifying the broad impact that alcohol use can have on individuals, those around them and wider society is important to informing the development, implementation and targeting of interventions to reduce and prevent alcohol-related harms."