© Reuters
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Deaths from alcohol-related liver disease in England jumped by an unprecedented 21% in 2020, according to Public Health England (PHE), an agency at the Department of Health and Human Services. Official figures confirm the concerns from the first year of the pandemic that people with alcohol problems drink even more during the forced closure of their homes.
Consumption data show a 24% increase in the volumes of alcohol sold in shops and supermarkets between March 2020 and March 2021 compared to the previous 12 months.
However, the increase is not evenly distributed among the different groups of users. Those who bought more alcohol before the pandemic were the group that increased purchases after the outbreak.
Rosa O’Connor of PHE recalled in a statement that liver disease is the second largest factor in the untimely death of working-age Britons.
In real terms, the increase is from 5,819 to 6,983 alcohol-related deaths. 80% of them are due to severe liver damage. In the year before the pandemic, the increase in these cases was 3%, ie. 7 times less. Cases of alcohol poisoning decreased in 2019 by 5% to increase by 15% in 2020.
The health system in the country has recommended measures for alcohol consumption by adults – no more than 14 units within a week. The British unit is equal to 10 ml (or 8 grams) of pure alcohol, which the body should process in 1 hour. Figuratively speaking, there are 10 units in a bottle of wine, a little over 2 units in one beer, and in the case of stronger British beers this figure reaches 3 beers.
According to this indicator, the British have increased by 59% for the observed period, admitting to doctors that they drink dangerously much – more than 50 units for men and more than 35 units for women.
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