The United Kingdom has seen an increase in alcohol consumption since the beginning of coronavirus lockdown, leading to calls for further restrictions on its sale.
British charities cite isolation, anxiety and uncertainty as the driving factors behind the uptick in the cases of lockdown-induced alcoholism.
Recovering alcoholic Chris McLone says his reliance on alcohol began during the lockdown.
“I was drinking very early in the morning to stop withdrawal symptoms promising myself I wouldn’t do it again tomorrow and of course the exact same thing happens the next day," Mr McLone said.
“I was seriously suffering from withdrawal at the very end so all be I wanted to cut down and to stop at that point, I wasn’t in control of that at that was the frightening part. I'd never been like that in my life.”
The last 50 years has seen a large increase in alcohol-related liver disease in the UK, causing health charities to push for higher taxes, restrictions on advertising and better labelling.
Vanessa Hebditch from the British Liver Trust says that proper labelling needs to be introduced.
“It’s absolutely crazy I can go into the supermarket, buy a bottle of milk, get all sorts of nutritional information, calorie information. I can buy a bottle of beer or wine and get nothing," she said.
Health services across Britain say that referrals to alcohol rehab services are only now getting back to back to normal.
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