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.