7 September 2010 Last updated at 08:38 ET

Lincolnshire NHS to spend more on alcohol problems

More than £2m will be spent by NHS Lincolnshire helping people with alcohol problems in the next year.

National charity Drinkaware questioned 2,000 18-24 year olds and found that more than 1 in 3 of them went out drinking with the aim of getting drunk.

NHS Lincolnshire's Tony McGinty said the amount spent on alcohol treatment is increasing year by year.

"Two years ago we saw quite a big jump in expenditures and a steady increase each year since then," he said.

Domestic abuse

The number of people being treated for alcohol problems in the county is going up gradually, except in Lincoln where the numbers have stabilised, he said.

He said drink problems are closely linked to domestic abuse and violence across the country.

Spending on alcohol treatment rose from £270,000 in 2007-08 to a total of £1.5m in 2008-09.

A total of 804 people were treated for alcohol dependency from 2009-10, A total of £1.7m was spent on this over the year.