It’s time to talk about alcohol marketing and rising liver deaths among women
Watching the BBC Panorama documentary Binge Drinking and Me was heart-breaking. It revealed something we don’t talk about enough: the growing number of women under 40 dying from liver disease. These aren’t just numbers – they’re young lives lost to something preventable. The recent release of ONS alcohol deaths data reinforces this fact – with deaths from alcohol at unprecedented levels and the worst rates here in the North East; and a big part of the problem is how alcohol is marketed directly to women.
Over the years, the alcohol industry has worked hard to sell us the idea that drinking is glamorous, empowering, and the perfect way to relax. Whether it’s the “wine o’clock” memes or the Instagram-worthy cocktails, alcohol marketing is everywhere. The message is clear: drinking is part of being a modern woman, but behind this shiny facade is a much darker reality.
Liver disease deaths among young women have been rising fast over recent years, and it’s not a coincidence. The more drinking is normalised, the more harm it causes. Alcohol is now available in places it would never have been sold in the past – soft play areas, hairdressers, florists – reinforcing the feeling that it should be part of our social fabric. It’s possible to buy a week’s worth of alcohol for less than a cup of takeaway coffee and images of alcohol adorn mother’s day cards and birthday cards targeted at women.
Yet alcohol is no ordinary commodity. It’s linked with around 200 medical conditions and can harm our mental, as well as physical health. Contrary to popular opinion, it doesn’t just damage your liver; it also causes seven types of cancer as highlighted in our ‘Alcohol is Toxic’ campaign. And yet, the alcohol industry continues to push a glossy narrative, deliberately underplaying the health risks of its products.
“Behind that shiny marketing is a much darker reality.”
What Panorama made clear is that this needs to change. We’ve done it with smoking, so why are we still giving alcohol marketing a free pass? Now is the time to have honest conversations about how the alcohol industry actively targets women and how this is impacting across our region and beyond.
This isn’t about blaming individuals; it’s about challenging an industry that profits from our health – 78% of all alcohol consumed in the UK is by people drinking at harmful or hazardous levels. We need national action now to raise awareness of alcohol’s harms, alongside measures which reduce the affordability, availability and promotion of alcohol. It’s time to stop letting the alcohol industry dictate the story and start prioritising public health. Because losing more lives to something so preventable is simply not acceptable.