Alcohol puts more people in hospital than ice, study shows

Alcohol is putting far more pressure on hospitals than the drug ice, a new study has revealed. 

The Australian College of Emergency Medicine study found hospital emergency departments are overwhelmed by patients under the influence of alcohol. 

It found alcohol contributes to more injuries and illnesses than methamphetamines like ice. 

Associate Professor Diana Egerton Warburton admitted ice was a ‘wicked problem’ but said alcohol was far worse. 

‘Every hour after midnight that we have access to alcohol, there is a 20 per cent increase to injuries,’ she told Tom Elliott. 

She said lock out laws introduced in New South Wales had dramatically reduced alcohol-related assaults.