"Alcoholism and alcoholic liver disease are not the same thing," said Dr. Hector Orrego of the Addiction Research Foundation. "The majority of people with alcoholic liver disease have never been intoxicated."

Few young scientists are attracted to a field where there is little funding for studies, [Laurence Blendis] said, adding liver research receives about $1.5 million for every $20 million provided for heart disease and cancer. He was unable to cite the total spent on liver research in Canada.

Blendis said liver disease affects one in every 12 Canadians and is the fourth biggest killer of Canadians aged 20 to 50. They die of cirrhosis, liver cancer and hepatitis B.