Alcohol-related illnesses set to soar 14th March 2006 The number of people falling ill because of booze and binge-drinking will increase sharply over the next decade, experts said today. Doctors say drinking habits in the UK will lead to more cases of cirrhosis - a serious liver disease brought on by booze. "There is a 20 to 30 year lag between what people drink and hospitals filled with the consequences," said Professor Elwyn Elias, president of the British Society of Gastroenterology.  "Binge drinking can have a sudden effect, but you can also kill yourself in 20 years, by drinking what some people consider a reasonable amount." The comments follow a report by the British Society of Gastroenterology which was published yesterday. A statement to accompany the report, which set out a blueprint for future treatment of gut and liver problems, said: "As a nation, we are drinking more than we have been for 90 years and there is a lag between consumption and cirrhosis. "Already we have seen a 350 per cent increase in cirrhosis between 1970 and 1998, and this figure is 900 per cent for those under 45 years of age." The report suggests that binge-drinking and its consequences could put immense pressure on the NHS in future. Around six million British people are thought to be binge-drinkers, consuming more than the recommended amount of weekly units in a single drinking session.