Alcohol 'a growing menace in advanced and newer economies'

Tokyo

HARMFUL drinking is on the rise among young people and women in many countries as a result of alcohol becoming more widely available, more affordable and more effectively advertised, said the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

In a report on Tuesday, it noted that although the problem is most acute in the more advanced OECD economies, alcohol consumption has also leapt in Russia, Brazil, India and China; in India and China, the rise was happening from a low base, the Paris-based organisation said.