Coronavirus: 'Tackle harmful lockdown drinking,' BMJ editorial warns

Tackling harmful drinking during the lockdown will be 'an integral part of the nation's recovery', an editorial in the BMJ says. With supermarket sales of alcohol having risen, it warns cases of alcoholic liver disease could increase too. And the writers fear drinking could be fuelling a rise in calls to domestic violence charities. They say greater investment in alcohol treatment services is needed. 'Many people reacted to the closure of pubs and restaurants by stocking up to drink at home in isolation,' says the article, by Prof Sir Ian Gilmore, who chairs Alcohol Health Alliance UK, and Ilora Finlay, who chairs the House of Lords Commission on Alcohol Harms.