Cases Of Alcoholic Liver Disease Double In 10 Years

The number of people admitted to hospital with a diagnosis of alcoholic liver disease has more than doubled in 10 years, new NHS figures have revealed. This means more than 100 people are admitted to hospital with the disease every day.

A leading charity called for urgent action following the release of statistics by the NHS Information Centre for Health and Social Care. Alison Rogers, chief executive of the British Liver Trust, said: “The fact that alcohol-related admissions in England have gone up over 50 per cent since 1995/6 should be a matter of great alarm. If it were road traffic deaths, there would be a public outcry.”

The British Liver Trust said 42 per cent of men and 36 per cent of women aged 16 to 24-years-old drink more than the daily recommended amounts of alcohol and are at risk of developing liver disease in the next five to ten years.

“Cheap and accessible booze coupled with the UK’s ‘any time, anywhere, any place’ mentality is costing us all very dear, and far too many are literally paying with their lives,” Ms Rogers said. The charity is urging the drinks industry, supermarkets and off-licences to tell consumers about the health risks of drinking to excess.

Ms Rogers said: “Everyone has to take their share of responsibility. Individuals have to think more about their own consumption, but Government should be pushing the drinks industry much harder, especially if it is relying on them to self regulate.

“There is a conflict of interest between the Treasury and Department of Health. This needs to be overcome. We saw with the tobacco industry that it took decades of pressure to overcome the reluctance of ministers to warn people properly about the dangers of smoking – how long must we wait for the alcohol messages to get through?”