'French wine slips into fifth place with British drinkers'

French wine, for centuries the most popular with British drinkers, has fallen spectacularly out of favour, according to market research. Our neighbour across the Channel has now dropped to fifth place in British drinkers' affections, overtaken by South Africa, as well as Australia, the United States and Italy - The Telegraph​

The number of people dying from alcohol-related causes rose by nearly 40 per cent from 5,287 in 1999 to 7,341 last year, figures obtained by the Conservative MP James Brokenshire, a shadow Home Office minister, show. The number of deaths among women rose by 32 per cent and among men by 43 per cent - The Times ​

The number of people drinking themselves to death has soared by 40 per cent under Labour. Critics blame the relaxing of licensing laws and the availability of cheap drink in supermarkets - Daily Mail​

Britain's thirst for energy drinks has never been greater - and now a product with twice the caffeine of Red Bull is about to hit the market. Consumers already guzzle around 330million litres of the boosters every year. But the safety and marketing of these products is about to be called into question with the imminent launch of a beverage set to be called Cocaine - The Sun​

Sales at Booker, the cash-and-carry group, have been boosted by the warm weather as parched Britons snap up the soft drinks and ice creams that the wholesaler distributes to more than 412,000 corner shops, pubs and restaurants. In the 12 weeks to the end of June, sales at Booker rose 7.8 per cent compared with the same period last year - Financial Times​

Gordon Brown last night warned that the world could be plunged into a second recession — worse than the first. The PM said sharp rises in oil prices could stop any recovery in its tracks and trigger a more damaging global slump - The Sun​