I have recently read a really worrying report from the Association of Public Health Observatories in England regarding alcohol misuse in Sussex. Areas like Brighton and Hove, Hastings, Eastbourne, Adur, Arun and Worthing compare very poorly when compared to the situation in the region.
Life expectancy is lower in many of these areas due to alcohol, particularly amongst men, and deaths due to alcohol are particularly high in Brighton and Hove where 25.5 men per 100,000 die from alcohol related causes (the regional average is 10.1), a high proportion of them from chronic liver disease.
Is the position getting any better. Not if you look at the trends of adults who binge drink. Compared to the previous year, the numbers estimated to binge drink are rising in every district including the leafy districts such as Wealden, Horsham and Mid-Sussex. However, the highest increase is in Brighton and Hove where the numbers estimated to binge drink have increase from 19% to 27.3%.
This worsening trend of binge drinkers must ring alarm bells since alcohol-related illnesses, including chronic liver disease, and alcohol-related deaths will increase in the years to come. A very sobering thought.
