Leading doctors warn of liver failure epidemic in young
adults as cases soar
- The
North East has seen a 400 per cent increase in the number of hospital
admissions for people in their early 30s with alcoholic liver disease
By Claire Bates
The
North East has seen a 400 per cent increase in the number of hospital
admissions for people in their early 30s with alcoholic liver disease (model)
Consultants have called on the
Government to introduce new curbs on alcohol advertising to protect young
people.
In an open letter they warned Britain is facing an epidemic
of liver disease caused by a binge drinking culture and cheap booze.
The North East has been hit particularly hard with figures
showing a 400 per cent increase in the number of hospital admissions for people
in their early 30s with alcoholic liver disease.
The consultants are supporting a campaign by Balance, the
north east of England's alcohol office, demanding a stop to the alcohol
industry recruiting young people as the next generation of problem drinkers.
Balance said children were 'swimming through 40% proof
advertising' and were being encouraged to start drinking younger, and to drink
more.
In the open letter published in The Guardian the
consultants, mostly liver specialists and gastroenterologists, blamed the
problem on our having created 'an excessively pro-alcohol culture by selling
alcohol for pocket money prices'.
More...
They said a decade ago it was unusual for a liver specialist
to treat anyone for alcoholic cirrhosis who had not reached their 50s.
'Alarmingly, this is no longer the case. In the North East
we are in the middle of an epidemic,' they add.
'It is clear we need to halt this epidemic in its tracks,
otherwise we will soon be treating young men and young men and women in their
20s on a regular basis for a disease that is 100% preventable.'
A spokesman for Balance said: 'It's time we said enough is
enough.
'Our children are being bombarded by alcohol advertising
which is encouraging them to drink alcohol at an early age - and in greater
quantities.
'Early consumption is linked with a host of problems
including brain damage, truancy, experimenting with drugs and unsafe sex.
'We don't think that it's normal for children to be
bombarded by alcohol adverts while going about the business of being children.'
Balance's petition demands a ban on alcohol advertising on
television and non-18 certificate films in the cinema, as well as a halt to the
sponsoring of sports and cultural events.
The North East has the highest rate of 11 to 15 year olds
drinking. This means
they are more likely to be victims of crime, have unprotected sex, and under
perform at school.
Research by Balance showed North-East hospitals recorded 189
admissions for 30 to 34-year-olds with the disease last year, compared with 37
in 2002.
In total, there were 778 admissions for 30 to 34-year olds
with alcohol liver disease between 2002 and last year, costing the NHS about
£1.8m.
There were a further 482 admissions for under-30s, with some
people admitted under the age of 20.
In all, in the past eight years there have been 21,798
alcoholic liver disease admissions across the region, costing the NHS £51.7m.
THE LETTER IN FULL
Dear editor
When it
comes to alcohol and the liver, the general rule is that the volume and
duration of consumption determines whether someone will have a problem.
As
recently as a decade ago, it was unusual for a liver specialist to treat anyone
for alcoholic cirrhosis who had not reached their fifties.
Alarmingly, this
is no longer the case.
In the
North East we are in the middle of an epidemic. We have witnessed a 400% increase in
the number of 30-34 year olds being admitted into our hospitals with alcoholic
liver disease since 2002.
This
early onset is due to the fact that people are drinking at much earlier ages
and in much greater quantities than ever before.
The
average adult now consumes just under 11 litres of pure alcohol each year, more
than double the levels recorded in the 1950s.
People
are consuming in this way because we've created an excessively pro-alcohol
culture by selling alcohol for pocket money prices, promoting it heavily and
widely and making it available 24 hours a day.
It's
clear we need to halt this epidemic in its tracks, otherwise we'll soon be
treating young men and women in their twenties on a regular basis for a disease
that is 100% preventable.
That's
why we're supporting en masse a campaign which has been launched in our region
by Balance, the North East alcohol office.
It calls
for Government to stop the alcohol industry recruiting our children and young
people as the next generation of problem drinkers.
By
preventing the alcohol industry from reaching children and young people through
TV, social networking sites, under-18 films in the cinema and sponsorship of
sporting and youth events, we begin to make drinking early and in large
quantities less normal and less acceptable.
We begin
to change the excessively pro-alcohol culture, which the alcohol industry
spends an estimated £800m a year on marketing to sustain.
We need
everyone who is concerned about the lives and futures of our children and young
people to back this campaign and sign the petition at www.balancenortheast.co.uk
Yours
sincerely,
:: Chris Record, consultant physician and liver specialist at Newcastle
University and Newcastle Hospitals
:: James Crosby, consultant gastroenterologist, City Hospitals Sunderland
:: Andrew Douglass, consultant gastroenterologist, South Tees NHS Trust
:: Jane Metcalf, honorary senior lecturer and consultant physician, North Tees
and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust
:: Simon Cowlam, consultant gastroenterologist, City Hospitals Sunderland
:: Stuart McPherson, consultant hepatologist Freeman Hospital, Newcastle upon
Tyne
:: Emma Johns, consultant gastroenterologist, Gateshead
:: Elizabeth Phillips, consultant gastroenterologist and Honorary Senior
Lecturer, Northumbria Healthcare NHS
:: Colin Rees, consultant gastroenterologist, South Tyneside NHS Foundation
Trust
:: Christopher Wells, consultant gastroenterologist, University Hospital of
North Tees
:: Anthoor Jayaprakash, consultant physician and gastroenterologist, Wansbeck
Hospital
:: Deepak Dwarakanath, consultant physician, University Hospital of North
Durham
:: Zahid Mahmood, physician and lead gastrologist, North Cumbria University
Hospitals
:: S. Zafar Abbas, consultant gastroenterologist, Hexham General Hospital
:: Dr Anthony Macklon, consultant physician and gastroenterologist, University
Hospital of North Durham
:: Jitendra Singh, consultant gastroenterologist and general physician, Queen
Elizabeth Hospital, Gateshead
:: Peter Trewby, consultant physician, County Durham and Darlington Foundation
Trust
:: Phil Matthews, consultant gastroenterologist, Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals
NHS Foundation Trust
:: Diamond Joy, consultant gastroenterologist, The James Cook University
Hospital
:: Harriet Mitchison, consultant endoscopy, City Hospitals Sunderland
:: Paul Cann, consultant gastroenterologist, The James Cook University
Hospital, Middlesbrough
:: David Hobday, consultant gastroenterologist, City Hospitals Sunderland
:: Anjan Dhar, consultant gastroenterologist, University Hospital of North
Durham
:: Christopher Haigh, consultant gastroenterologist, Wansbeck Hospital
:: Richard Thomas, consultant physician, North Tees and Hartlepool NHS
Foundation Trust
:: Matt Rutter consultant gastroenterologist University Hospital of North Tees
:: Mumtaz Hayat, consultant gastroenterologist and physician, Northumbria
Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
:: Margaret Bassendine, professor of hepatology at Newcastle University and hon
consultant hepatologist Freeman Hospital, Newcastle upon Tyne
:: David Oliver, consultant gastroenterologist, The James Cook University
Hospital, Middlesbrough
:: Arvind Ramadas, consultant gastroenterologist, The James Cook University
Hospital, Middlesbrough
:: Jo Topping, consultant gastroenterologist, South Tyneside District Hospital
:: Anand Reddy, consultant physician and gastroenterologist, Queen Elizabeth
Hospital, Gateshead
:: Babur Javaid, consultant gastroenterologist, North Cumbria University
Hospitals
:: Anil Bhagwat, consultant, Hexham General Hospital
:: Saksena Sushma, consultant physician and hepatologist, University Hospital
North Durham
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