Top doctors in UK fear for teens with change in alcohol laws

Aug 30 2005

Doctors in the UK are concerned that any relaxation in the alcohol laws will only serve to cause a rise in cirrhosis among young people.

Apparently in the year 2003-2004, 4,647 under-18s were admitted to hospital for alcohol abuse, and two of the UK's top doctors say that more teenagers will die from liver disease if 24-hour drinking goes ahead.

Doctors Ian Gilmore and Kieran Moriarty warn that longer opening hours will cause a rise in cirrhosis among young people, and they regard the government plans to liberalise drinking laws from November as "insane".

Professor Gilmore is the chairman of the Royal College of Physicians alcohol committee and Dr Moriarty advises the Department of Health on liver disease.

They have urged the government to reduce young people's access to alcohol.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport says the new laws would give police extra powers to deal with businesses serving underage drinkers.

A spokesman says they share doctors' concerns about the rise in drinking-related disease among young people, which is why the Licensing Act increases police powers to deal with businesses that serve alcohol to underage drinkers.

But he said excessive alcohol consumption often took place in the home and there was no evidence previous changes in UK licence led to increased drinking.

Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell has promised to keep the relaxation of licensing laws under review.

According to Professor Gilmore worldwide research shows that levels of consumption are heavily increased by price and availability, and an increase in hours of sale is likely to be associated with a rise rather than a fall in alcohol consumption.

According to Royal College of Physicians figures, one in three 15-year-olds admit to having been drunk at least once.

Dr Moriarty says they are now seeing patients in their thirties and twenties, and even the occasional patient in their teens, with irreversible alcoholic liver disease.

Some are dying in their twenties with jaundice, liver coma, and internal bleeding, which is very distressing.

Government figures released at the start of the month showed the number of UK children admitted to hospital because of drinking alcohol had risen by 11% since the mid-1990s.