A LEADING charity warns that lockdown and the strain of the Covid-19 pandemic may be increasing the triggers that lead people towards drink. Analysis of Public Health England’s (PHE) data carried out by The Royal College of Psychiatrists in September 2020 found that over 8.4 million people were drinking at high risk levels in the UK. That s almost double the 4.8 million high-risk drinkers recorded in February 2020, before the first national lockdown began in March. In a survey by PHE published in January 2021, almost a quarter of adults said they noticed they were drinking more alcohol since the lockdowns began. And almost half of those who drank more during the second lockdown said they wanted to cut back on alcohol this year.
Children s Minister Vicky Ford revealed in an interview with the Sunday Times that her battle with anorexia at the age of 15 left her weighing just five-and-a-half stone.
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It comes as experts warn that Britain’s young are on the brink of a mental health disaster. Lockdown measures have brought down deaths and infections - but children have faced hugely reduced education, cancelled exams and have a bleak economic outlook ahead. Our crusade calls upon the Government to guarantee long term financial, educational and health support for children, teenagers and young adults caught up in the lockdown crisis to try to ensure their futures are not permanently blighted.