** Public Post **
By Jenny Hope
Last updated at 9:41 PM on 30th December 2008
The number of young people suffering from liver disease caused by alcohol has more than doubled since Labour came to power.
Damning figures show 6,495 Britons aged 18 to 40 were admitted to hospital suffering from alcoholic liver disease in 2006/07, compared to 2,967 a decade ago.
In the same period, there were 43,548 admissions across all age groups for the disease, with a further 27,040 cases related to the toxic effects of alcohol.
In addition, there were 158,656 admissions made for mental health problems related to drinking, including 6,612 among those aged 17 and under.
The figures come as doctors warn they are seeing more young people suffering from alcoholic liver disease - a condition previously seen only in the middle-aged.
Eight women die a day from liver problems - often at an earlier age than men - while an estimated two million Britons are suffering from chronic liver disease, although many are unaware of it.
It is the fifth most important cause of death in the UK, which is the only developed nation with an upward trend in mortality especially among younger people.
Last year research concluded the burden would get worse and the NHS must develop more capacity to respond to liver disease.
But the Government has not yet approved a liver strategy for England despite support from the Royal College of Physicians and other professional bodies.
Liberal Democrat MP Paul Burstow, who obtained the latest data in response to a parliamentary question, said: ‘These figures expose an iceberg effect where enormous problems are being stored up for the NHS in the future.
'But these figures show a growing trend with people who are in their 30s being diagnosed with liver disease caused by alcohol consumption.
'Behind these figures are huge human and financial costs.
‘The human cost in terms of poor health and premature death, and the financial cost in terms of the drain on the NHS and the lost productivity must be huge.’
In October, a National Audit Office report blamed ministers for failing to act against binge drinking.
A report from the National Audit Office in October blamed ministers for not taking responsibility for binge drinking.
It said the number of alcohol-related deaths had more than doubled in 15 years, to 8,100.
It said the Department of Health and NHS were guilty of passing the buck on dealing with binge drinking to primary care trusts, which were not given enough 'leadership' to address the issue.
One in five women and one in three men are now drinking at levels considered hazardous to health - 14 units or more a week for women and 21 units or more for men, with a unit being a glass of wine, half a pint of beer or pub measure of spirits.
A spokesman for the Department of Heath said: 'We are determined to reduce the health and social harms caused by alcohol.
'The Government's £10million 'Know Your Limits' campaign arms people with the facts about alcohol and its effects.
'The Government recently announced its intention to crack down on irresponsible promotions and impose new standards on the alcohol industry.
We have not ruled out taking action on very cheap alcohol.'
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1103098/Alcoholic-liver-disease-...
And, in a related story (for those who think Europe is sane and healthy in their openness to what many Americans consider vices):
The 'nanny state' guide to giving children of five alcohol
Parents are to be issued with government guidance about letting their children try alcohol at home.
Currently, children as young as five can legally drink at home if they are supervised by their parents.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1103243/The-nanny-state-guide-gi...
Cyberjammies
This over indulgence in alcohol is not good news for our youth and their health. We know of several teens who have died as a result of binge drinking as well as alcohol related traffic accidents. just tragic.
1Where do they get their booze? Who supplies the money to purchase, and who the means to btain?
2obtain = btain :head-smack:
3In the United Kingdom the legal age is 18, or 16 in restaurants.
http://www2.potsdam.edu/hansondj/LegalDrinkingAge.html
It's 16 in the Netherlands, where my DD spent her junior year of high school.
4------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public's money. -- Alexis de Tocqueville
Liver disease by the age of 30. Yikes! That is frightening.
5Doesn't it take a boatload of drinking to get liver disease?
6Pancreatitis too I bet. I think that would be more common than liver disease. At least with my age group and binge drinking.
7skb, I think it's a function of frequent binge drinking, which is on the increase among 18-25-year-olds here, as well as in England.
I've read that England also has a problem with sloppy-drunk young women becoming violent and starting fights.
Police warn of rise in violence by women
Violent women are stretching police resources, with increasing numbers being arrested, police have warned. The chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales, Paul McKeever, called it a 'new phenomenon'.
'Clearly there is an increase in the number of women who use violence in their everyday life and when they are out drinking on the streets,' he said. An average of 240 women a day are arrested for violent offences in England and Wales.
McKeever said young women were also joining violent gangs. 'It's a new phenomenon and it does stretch the resources of the police service,' he said.
Meanwhile, the number of crimes committed by girls aged 10 to 17 in England and Wales has gone up by 25 per cent in three years to 59,000, Youth Justice Board figures show. But critics say the increase is down to the police dealing with violent women more formally. Susan Batchelor, of the Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research, said 'Traditionally young women have been much more informally socially controlled than young men, and we may be seeing some changes.'
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2008/aug/10/ukcrime.gender
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