Leading doctor warns of liver failure epidemic in young adults as cases soar

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'.

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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