[summary] UK liver disease report: Budget to reverse declines in England

Key points

The recent decreases in liver mortality in England will not persist after the removal of the duty escalator and the reduction in alcohol duty in the most recent budget, according to the Lancet Commission on liver disease
The commission says it continues to strongly support the introduction of minimum unit pricing which is “exquisitely targeted” at the heaviest drinkers. It is being introduced in Scotland and is currently being considered in Wales and Ireland
Voluntary agreements with the food and drinks industry have been shown to be ineffective
On a positive note, a recent study showed universal screening for alcohol consumption and related liver disease is feasible

Background

Between 1980 and 2013, liver deaths from known causes increased by four times, with 84% of the increase due to alcohol-related liver disease
The most important factor in this was the increasing affordability of alcohol, says the commission
It made ten major recommendations in 2014, including: “Scaling up of national action to reduce the country’s overall consumption of alcohol”
The high mortality in adults has continued since then