Now that the problem of alcohol-abusing foreigners has dissipated for another year, medical experts have turned their attention to local offenders.

Speaking at a recent press conference to announce an upcoming seminar on the subject, doctors warned of an alarming rise in the number of young people and women who consume excessive amounts of alcohol in Greece, saying that hospitals had to deal with more patients in these groups suffering from problems linked to drinking alcohol.

According to the head of the Greek Society for Liver Research Evangelos Akriviathis, 17 percent of boys and 9 percent of girls in Greece aged 15 to 20 drink alcohol at least 10 times a month, while only 4 percent of teens throughout the world drink on a daily basis.

The rising use of alcohol among women is another cause for concern, since they are physically less resistant to the adverse effects of alcohol than men.

"The abuse of alcohol is responsible for 15-20 percent of patients hospitalized with cirrhosis and about 10 percent of patients with primary cancer of the liver," Dr. Akriviathis said. 

"There is a fine line between use and abuse," he pointed out, adding that more and more people of every age appeared to be crossing the line in recent years.