A BLEAK picture of drug and alcohol misuse, lower life expectancy, teenage pregnancies and long-term illnesses in Weymouth and Portland is revealed today.

A person living in the borough is less likely to exercise and more likely to smoke than somebody living elsewhere in the Dorset Primary Care Trust area.

As a result a child growing up in the borough is more likely to suffer emotional health problems which it takes into adulthood, says the Public Health Report for Dorset 2006.

Factors contributing to the figures include relatively high unemployment, low earnings, high house prices, and higher crime levels.

Now the report is due to be considered by Dorset County Council and a series of measures to improve the problems considered.

The report focuses on the health of young and old people together with alcohol abuse in adults across Dorset, excluding Poole and Bournemouth.

It reveals that Weymouth and Portland is in the worst quarter of local authorities in England and Wales for alcohol-related deaths from chronic liver disease for men.

The borough also recorded the highest rates of violent incidents from the misuse of alcohol of any local authority in Dorset - again in the country's bottom quarter.

The report puts this down to 'Weymouth's relatively unique role as both a popular tourist destination and the principal late-night leisure and entertainment destination in Dorset.' As a comparison East Dorset has the lowest rates of alcohol-related violent crime in England.

Teenage pregnancy among 15 to 17-year-olds in the borough is 49.2 per 1,000 of the population.

This compares with an England Wales average of 42.2.

Weymouth and Portland also has the highest rates of drug misuse in Dorset.

But the report stresses that compared to the rest of the country the health of people living here is still relatively good.

The average life expectancy of a man in Weymouth and Portland is 76.4 years and a woman 81.7.

In England and Wales the average is 76.5 for a man and 80.8 for a woman.

However life expectancy in East Dorset is 3.3 years longer.

Obesity levels in the county are also similar to the national average.

The report, which has been compiled by the Dorset Primary Care Trust, proposes an alcohol strategy to tackle binge drinking, support parents, and enforce licensing laws.

It also praises the work done by partnership agencies and schemes such as Drink Safe, Street Safe to promote safe drinking.

The PCT has also developed a children and young people's plan for Dorset.

The health scrutiny committee is due to consider the report at a meeting on May 8.