Experts warn Britain needs to take urgent action, heading as it is to a dementia epidemic caused by the nation's binge-drinking culture. Research published in the British Journal of Psychiatry has linked excessive drinking to a loss of brain tissue.

Cheap alcohol, according to Dr. Susham Gupta and Dr James Warner has doubled drinking rates from double what they were in the
1960s, and the problem needs to be curbed with the introduction of tough drinking laws. Reports say prices for alcohol relative to average UK income have halved since the 1960s and since then and 2000, alcohol consumption per head has nearly doubled from less than six litres a year to more than 11.5 litres. This means that if current trends prevail, within 10 years, the UK population will be drinking more alcohol than any other country in Europe.

Future generations may see a disproportionate increase in alcohol related dementia , as heavy drinking raises the risk of it and, while Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of the disease, alcohol accounts for around a tenth of all cases, with heavy drinking contributing almost a quarter.

High intake levels of alcohol, reversed the benefits leading to high blood pressure, raised levels of harmful blood fats, and brain damage. According to Dr. Gupta, alcoholics were at increased risk of dementia, since they did not eat enough for long time-periods. The problem is also compounded by the effects of increasing use of recreational drugs like ecstasy, whose long-term effects on cognition are still uncertain.

Supporting their message, Susanne Sorensen, Head of Research at the Alzheimer's Society, says: 'One in three people over 65 will die with dementia. We desperately need new research into the long-term effects of all types of alcohol consumption - from people who drink more than a few glasses of wine each night to binge drinkers.