Analysis: Hospitals see damage of cheap booze

The problems caused by alcohol in Scotland are horrendous. About three in ten patients with acute illnesses have an alcohol-related health issue.

We see people suffering long-term, damaging effects on a daily basis. These patients typically consume strong, cheap cider. Some of them drink as much as six litres a day. And these days we are not just talking about older patients, I have treated a 22-year-old woman for severe liver failure.

We are not just talking about poorer people either – people from all backgrounds are drinking way too much.

Many people can function for a while drinking in excess. It often takes one thing, like a family crisis or losing a job, to tip them over the edge and into even heavier, potentially fatal drinking.

By making alcohol more expensive it is less obtainable and as a result I fully expect to see a reduction in the number of patients who end up in hospital with serious, life-threatening alcohol-related problems.

I think we would see the effects pretty quickly, within two years of legislation being passed.

Government intervention can and does work, and by making alcohol less accessible to those who rely on it the most can only have a positive impact on their health.

I have colleagues in other parts of the UK and across Europe who are envious of the moves being taken in Scotland to tackle this issue. There is a groundswell of opinion that this is a workable and effective way of treating alcohol problems and dramatically reducing related deaths.

• Dr Ewan Forrest is a consultant gastroenterologist who specialises in treating alcoholic liver disease at Glasgow Royal Infirmary.