Binge drinking can cause long-term brain damage - study

Just a few sessions of heavy drinking can damage someone's ability to pay attention, remember things and make good judgments, research shows.

Binge drinkers are known to be at increased risk of accidents, violence and engaging in unprotected sex. But the study is the first to identify brain damage as a danger of consuming more alcohol than official safe limits.

The research, to be published in the journal Alcohol and Alcoholism, is significant because binge drinking is so widespread in the UK. Twenty-three per cent of men and 15% of women drink more than twice the government's recommended daily limit. For men this means consuming more than eight units a day and for women more than six, according to the Office for National Statistics.