Alcohol causes 60 different diseases say scientists

ALCOHOL is the cause in about 60 different ailments, say scientists. Professor Robin Room of the Centre for Social Research on Alcohol and Drugs at Stockholm University and other researchers found that four per cent of the global burden of disease is attributable to alcohol, compared with 4.1 per cent to tobacco and 4.4 per cent to high blood pressure.

Alcohol causes almost as many deaths and disabilities globally as smoking or high blood pressure and the potential effects on health are not taken into account when changes to licensing laws are considered. “It’s a very short-sighted approach,” Room said.

The study looks at diseases, including cancers of the mouth, liver and breast, heart disease, stroke and cirrhosis, in which alcohol can play a role. It also highlights the role of alcohol in car accidents, drowning, falls and poisoning. Alcohol is also linked to a proportion of self-inflicted injuries and murders.

Using data on alcohol cost and British alcohol-related mortality information, the researchers estimate that increasing the price of alcohol by 10 per cent would produce a seven percent drop in deaths from cirrhosis of the liver in men and an 8.3 per cent drop in deaths in women. Restricting the availability of alcohol by reducing the hours that pubs and shops can sell it would also affect the rates of alcohol-related harm, he said.