Britain has seen a surge in alcohol consumption after the coronaviruis pandemic started and it would only increase health issues for generations, experts warned. Even before the lockdown started, alcohol sales were up 67 per cent. People started to stock alcohol at homes and drinking in isolation.
The warning has come up in an edit in the leading medical Journal BMJ by chairwoman of the Commission on Alcohol Harms Ilora Finley and chairman of Alcohol Health Alliance Ian Gilmore.
They said that tackling the harm caused by alcohol should be an integral part of nation recovery after corona. They warned that the toll of increased alcohol harm will stay for generation if the tendency of over consumption was not checked,
The two said that that people with alcohol problems and those on the “brink” of dependence are at particular risk. They are at a higher risk with troubled relationships, job insecurity and bereavement. They also noted that domestic violence also led to increased consumption.
Ilora Finley and Ian Gilmore said that the country could see an increase in the number of people with liver disease. They also pointed out that alcohol treatment services would increase after the lockdown.