Young binge drinkers show signs of sclerosis

YOUNG people are beginning to show signs of acute liver damage as a result of binge drinking, hospital consultants warned yesterday.

Accident and Emergency consultants told an Oireachtas committee that for the first time people in their 20s were beginning to show signs of sclerosis of the liver. The consultants, from A&E units in some of the country’s biggest acute hospitals, said urgent action was needed to curb excessive drinking, which was responsible for around 50% of admissions after midnight. The Oireachtas Health Committee also heard that parents were not aware of the scale of drinking among young people.

Dr Mary Houlihan of the sexual assault unit in Dublin’s Rotunda Hospital said many young women were claiming to have been the victim of a date rape drug, when excessive drink was often the problem.

Consultants also told the committee that they had seen worrying links between drink, drugs and attempted suicide.

The chairman of the committee, Fianna Fáil TD Batt O’Keeffe said the state of intoxication of young people was “absolutely horrendous” and was putting the health system under severe strain. Ireland recorded the highest increase in alcohol consumption among EU countries in the last decade and it is estimated alcohol-related problems cost the country around 2.4 billion.

“It’s clear that parents have no idea about the scale of binge drinking taking place among young people,” said Mr O’Keeffe. “The state of intoxication in which young people appear in A&E units is horrendous, with some in an almost comatose state.”

The committee, which will hear submissions from the drinks industry and publicans in the coming weeks, agreed that a number of measures should be taken to help tackle binge drinking. It agreed advertising for “alcopops” should be banned to prevent young people being targeted by the drinks industry.

The committee said liaison nurses should be appointed to A&E units across the country, who would ensure that a person discharged from hospital receives appropriate follow-up treatment, such as psychiatric care or counselling. It also said a system could be established where hospital consultants and the gardaí could share information on the scale of the alcohol problem among young people.

The committee, however, stopped short of agreeing that an outright ban should be placed on drinks aimed directly at young people.