Heavy drinking will kill 63,000 people over next five years, doctors warn

[poledriver]

Heavy drinking will kill 63,000 people over next five years, doctors warn

Doctors urge government to introduce minimum unit pricing for alcohol as research reveals extent of liver disease

Almost 63,000 people in England will die over the next five years from liver problems linked to heavy drinking unless ministers tackle the scourge of cheap alcohol, doctors are warning.

Senior members of the medical profession and health charities are urging the government to bring in minimum unit pricing of alcohol and a crackdown on drink advertising to avert what they claim is the “public health crisis” of liver disease deaths.

Research from some of Britain’s leading academic experts on alcohol has found that alcohol misuse will lead to 62,905 deaths between 2017 and 2022 and cost the NHS £16.74bn to treat.

Analysis by Sheffield University’s influential Alcohol Research Group predicts that 32,475 of the deaths – the equivalent of 35 a day – will be the result of liver cancer and another 22,519 from alcoholic liver disease.

Cont. -

https://www.theguardian.com/society...next-five-years-doctors-warn?CMP=share_btn_tw

 

[aihfl]

Almost 63,000 people in England will die over the next five years from liver problems linked to heavy drinking unless ministers tackle the scourge of cheap alcohol, doctors are warning.

Of all the substances I abused, alcohol was by far the worst one to shake off. Getting drugs took effort. Getting alcohol was as easy as walking to the convenience store on the corner, no phone calls and driving involved. And at $8US for 1.5L of wine, it was dirt cheap.

Senior members of the medical profession and health charities are urging the government to bring in minimum unit pricing of alcohol and a crackdown on drink advertising to avert what they claim is the “public health crisis” of liver disease deaths.

I have often wondered why there hasn't been a campaign against alcohol like there has been for tobacco. There haven't been cigarette TV adverts in the USA for over 40 years.

 

[poledriver]

Yes, same with me. Alcohol has always been hard to stay away from, even with big breaks I tend to slowly go back to being addicted to it. I am close to finishing 'dry July' (no alcohol for July) and I am already feeling so much better and motivated from a near month break. After July finishes I hope to continue not drinking.

In Australia the tobacco industry has to now follow many strict guidelines like no branding on packaging, graphic health warnings on packs, massive price hikes and no advertising for sporting events or in newspapers, tv or magazines etc. For some weird reason the alcohol industry does not have to abide by the same rules and regulations. So at sporting events and on TV etc there are still ads for some alcohol because they sponsor the event (like football) and kids of all ages see it and get influenced by it. Similar with gambling. How these two things are still allowed to get away with this seems very suss and isn't a good thing imo. I hope it changes soon.

We have a pretty big problem here with drunk idiots and also gambling addiction. I hope something is done about it.

So much talk and action about our 'ice (meth) epidemic' here which in reality is a much smaller issue than the issues from alcohol abuse, there is corruption at work no doubt to enable big alcohol (and gambling companies) to continue to get away with the shit they do.

 

[LucidSDreamr]

But no effort to eradicate the drug like medically necessary opiates

 

[spacejunk]

if alcohol was a newly discovered drug, they'd ban it right away.
i consider it a "hard drug" more than a "soft drug" - not that those terms really mean anything - but seriously, i love my drugs and there's not many things i'm not game to take, but i don't touch alcohol and haven't had a drink in nearly 8 years.
it always felt much rougher on my body than any other substance. and the health impacts are pretty devastating.
a good friend of mine is a chronic alcoholic, and it's really heartbreaking to see what it's done to him. his liver is destroyed, and he's in far worse shape than heroin addicts i've known that have been using for decades.
the social acceptability and availability only worsens the harm and addictive potential.

 

[PriestTheyCalledHim]

This is why 6 years ago I quit alcohol and never plan to use it or any other drugs again.