Drinking a large glass of wine is the equivalent of three shots of vodka, the head of Pubic health England has warned.
Duncan Selbie described alcohol as a “silent killer” of working age adults in Britain, with rates of liver disease having increased 500% since the 1970s, according to a recent Lancet Commission on the disease.
He continued to say that cirrhosis of the liver was “largely preventable”, but difficult to control as it required a change of behaviour – something which he has long stressed is central to improving the nation’s health.
Selbie continued:
“Liver disease is largely preventable with the three big risk factors being alcohol – for example, a large glass of wine is like three shots of vodka, so it is very easy for people to pour a glass and have no idea how much they are drinking”
According to the NHS, long-term alcohol misuse is a major risk factor for serious conditions including heart disease, stroke, liver disease, liver cancer, and bowel cancer, as well possibly leading to social problems, such as unemployment, divorce, domestic abuse and homelessness.
