2,000 young lives lost to drinks, drugs

London: More than 2,000 deaths of young people each year are 'preventable', with drink and drugs taking a rising toll, a top doctor claims.

Dr Russell Viner, one of the authors of a global study on the deaths of young people, said Britain was doing worse on lifestyle health than many other developed countries.

But despite public fears over gun and knife crime, violence is not a leading cause of death in those aged 10 to 24 in the UK, he added.

"Four out of five deaths are entirely preventable," Dr Viner, of the Institute of Child Health in London, said. "Britain has much higher rates of alcohol and drug misuse than many other high-income countries."