The British Liver Trust, as part of the Alcohol Health Alliance, was delighted to support a debate in Parliament this week on alcohol harm and cancer.
On the 8th of July, MPs from across the House took part in a deeply impactful debate in Parliament to highlight the links between alcohol and cancer. The conversation spotlighted not only the mounting public health burden of alcohol harm but also the lack of political will to implement a coherent, national strategy. The debate was secured by Cat Smith MP. While there are promising pilot programmes and long-overdue clinical guidelines on the way, many MPs – including those with lived experience, warned that these alone are not enough.
Co-Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Liver Disease and Liver Cancer, Lorraine Beavers MP, shared her lived experience of alcohol harm:
“I know at first hand the harm that alcoholism causes in communities and families; I have lost four members of my family to alcohol-related deaths.”
She welcomed the 10-Year Health Plan, published last week, and announcements on improving alcohol labelling and supporting low- and no-alcohol products. However, she made clear that these measures were insufficient without greater political ambition:
“We have not had a dedicated alcohol strategy since 2012. The Government should rectify that as part of the 10-year health plan.”
Winchester MP Danny Chambers, highlighted the work of the British Liver Trust, based in his constituency, and called for a “comprehensive national alcohol strategy.”
Public Health and Prevention Minister Ashley Dalton MP set out the Government’s position:
“(A)lcohol is a type 1 carcinogen, meaning there is strong evidence that drinking alcohol can cause several types of cancer, as well as contributing to more than 200 other health conditions, including liver disease, high blood pressure, stroke and heart disease. That places an incredible and preventable pressure on our NHS: in England alone, of more than 1 million hospital admissions last year, 103,000 were due to alcohol-related cancer.”
She went on to describe pilot schemes aimed at earlier detection of liver cancer:
“(T)o identify people at high risk of liver cancer due to liver cirrhosis or advanced fibrosis, the NHS in England has been piloting community liver health checks in 20 areas, and liver primary care case-finding pilots across 12 primary care networks. Those pilot sites have screened nearly 125,000 people, and over 9,000 of them have been enrolled in liver cancer surveillance.”
The Minister also confirmed that the Department of Health’s plan to publish the first-ever UK guidelines on alcohol treatment. These will include recommendations on healthcare assessments for alcohol-related conditions and aim to strengthen pathways between specialist alcohol and drug treatment services and the wider healthcare system.
This debate was an important and timely opportunity for MPs and the charity sector to respond to the 10-Year Health Plan’s ambitions on tackling alcohol harm. Members spoke effectively and persuasively, highlighting both the devastating impact of alcohol harm on individuals and communities, and the urgent need for stronger national leadership and action.
