We have a middle-aged drinking epidemic and YOU could be part of it. Here are the four signs you have a problem, by DR MAX PEMBERTON

We have a middle-aged drinking epidemic and YOU could be part of it. Here are the four signs you have a problem, by DR MAX PEMBERTON By Dr Max Pemberton Published: 01:38, 16 September 2024 | Updated: 01:47, 16 September 2024 e-mail View comments With summer slowly fading and autumn just around the corner, I wonder how many of us are worried about how much we drank over the last few months? Perhaps you're counting down the days before you partake in 'Sober October?' Summer seems to provide so many people with the perfect excuse to indulge. Picnics, barbecues, pub lunches, a Pimm's in the garden before dinner, an espresso martini afterwards.

There's always a reason to crack open a bottle of something. And boy, can some people drink. I attended a brunch recently and most of the guests were legless by midday.

Another friend just came back from Spain and when I asked how it was, he laughed and said: 'No idea. I was bladdered the whole time.' There is a hidden epidemic involving middle-class, middle-aged and retired people drinking too much (picture posed by model) Does that sound familiar? It's around this time of year that many people sober up from summer excesses and realise that they may well have a dependence on alcohol .

When we think about the problems that society has with drinking, we tend to picture youngsters binging on alcopops. It conjures up images of hooligans brawling in the street, or girls barely able to stand, arms wrapped around each other while they stagger to .