According to The New York Post, the city Health Department has seen a significant increase in emergency room visits from alcohol-related issues-74,000 for New Yorkers ages 21 to 64 in 2009. This boost in visits is triple the amount in 2003, which was 22,000.
Alcohol-related visits accounted for 3.4 percent of all emergency room patients in 2009, which is a jump from the 1.5 percent reported in 2003, and the jump in underage drinkers making visits to the e.r. is a dramatic spike as well-from 1,000 to 4,000.
Areas of Manhattan that have a heavier concentration of bars and nightclubs, such as Greenwich Village, Murray Hill, and Chelsea, reported the highest number of drinkers in need of emergency room care in 2007-2008, whereas parts of Staten Island, the Bronx, and Brooklyn, don’t have this issue.
“Maybe binge drinkers are drinking more or they’re drinking more potent alcoholic beverages,” said Assistant Health Commissioner Daliah Heller.
