According to the NHS figures there has been a huge increase in the number of young adults treated in hospital for serious liver problems brought on by drinking too much.
The biggest increase in hospital admissions for alcohol-related liver disease has been seen in 25 to 29-year-olds. In 2002-03 a total of 182 men and 100 women in England were treated for it, but by 2009-10 those figures had risen to 291 and 188, up by 60% and 88% respectively. Additionally the number of 30 to 34-year-old men went up from 558 to 873 (56%), while for women it rose from 310 to 522 (68%). The numbers for 15 to 19-year-olds were much smaller, up from four to eight.
Dr Chris Record, a liver specialist at Newcastle University said alcoholic liver disease used to be rare in young adults but had increased as drinking habits had changed, and was likely to worsen. “The earlier the age at which children drink, and the more they drink, the greater the chance of developing serious liver disease in adult life. Many patients are now presenting with terminal liver disease in their late 20s and early 30s”, he said.
Analysis of official NHS Hospital Episode Statistics data by Balance, an NHS and police-funded alcohol research and campaign group based in Newcastle, showed that the north-east had experienced by far the highest rise in number of patients. The number of 25 to 29-year-old men admitted rose over the period studied from seven to 41 (486%), while among 30 to 34-year-olds there were big rises among both men, up from 23 to 130 (465%), and women, up 14 to 56 (300%).
“These specialists, who see this frightening escalation of harm to the liver every day, are bang on target when they seek to reverse the 24/7 influences on young people that make drinking, even heavy drinking, the norm for them,” said Professor Sir Ian Gilmore, the Royal College of Physicians' special adviser on alcohol. “Current Westminster policies simply don't go far enough, and our only hope of reversing this damage and death in our young people before it is too late is to directly target the widespread availability of cheap and heavily marketed alcohol across the country.”
The British Medical Association also said the figures were “further evidence that the government needs to take serious action on alcohol misuse”. “It must develop a comprehensive strategy that will work across government departments and focus on affordability, availability and promotion of alcohol in our society, particularly amongst young people”, said a spokesman.
Colin Shevills, Balance's director, said, “These figures are extremely worrying and demonstrate how starting to drink alcohol at a young age can have a serious impact on your health.” Balance urges the government to ban alcohol advertising on television, and in cinemas showing anything other than 18-certificate films, and to stop alcohol producers sponsoring sporting and cultural events.
Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) officials reaffirmed their commitment to ensuring alcoholic drinks are not targeted at young people by not advertizing at the Olympic Games.
A DCMS spokesman said, “It is imperative that we have robust, evidence-based alcohol advertising rules in place to ensure appropriate levels of consumer protection, especially for children and young people. Ofcom and the ASA (Advertising Standards Authority) have taken action to strengthen the alcohol advertising rules. We will continue to monitor the effectiveness of the UK's regulatory regimes to ensure that there is sufficient protection for the public.”
A Department of Health spokesman said liver disease was a “silent killer” which put thousands of lives at risk. They said, “We do not want to see the next generations dying young from a condition that is easily preventable - mainly by cutting down on alcohol and leading a healthier lifestyle. We know that the numbers of people we are seeing in hospital are going up, and so liver disease is costing the NHS more.”
Henry Ashworth, chief executive of the Portman Group, said it was vital to look at alcohol misuse in context. “The vast majority of people in the UK drink responsibly and 75% of adults drink within the chief medical officer's guidelines,” he said. “It is in all our interests to help people who misuse alcohol, but a knee-jerk blanket ban is disproportionate and unnecessary. The UK already has some of the strictest rules in place to prevent alcohol being marketed to children, or in a way that might appeal to them, and these rules are strictly policed by us and the Advertising Standards Authority.”
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