Rising Alcohol-Related Deaths in England: A Call to Action

Rising Alcohol-Related Deaths in England: A Call to Action

Alcohol-related deaths in England have hit alarming levels, with new data revealing significant increases over recent years. According to the latest figures, there were 8,274 alcohol-specific deaths in 2023 – a 63.8% rise from 5,050 in 2006 and a 4.6% jump compared to 2022. This translates to a rate of 15.0 deaths per 100,000 people, marking the highest figure recorded since the data series began in 2006. As Colin Angus, Senior Research Fellow at the Sheffield Addictions Research Group, explained, “8,274 people died in 2023 from causes that are wholly attributable to alcohol, an increase of 4.6% from 2022 and 42.2% since 2019. As shocking as these figures are, they are only part of the picture as this measure excludes any deaths from causes where alcohol is one of, but not the only, risk factor, including cardiovascular disease and many cancers” (Institute of Alcohol Studies).

The statistics highlight stark regional variations in alcohol-related mortality. The North East recorded the highest rate in 2023, with 25.7 deaths per 100,000 population, while the East of England reported the lowest at 11.5. At local authority level, Sunderland stood out with a strikingly high rate of 31.4, in contrast to Hackney’s 6.7 per 100,000 population. The data also underscored significant inequality, with the most deprived areas experiencing double the alcohol-specific mortality rate of the least deprived (20.9 vs 9.8 per 100,000).

Alcohol use is shown to have a broader impact on public health, particularly its role in liver disease. The mortality rate for chronic liver disease reached 15.0 per 100,000 people in 2023 – also the highest in the data’s history. This issue mirrors the inequalities seen in alcohol-specific mortality, with more deprived populations disproportionately affected.

A troubling insight from the data is the relatively young age at which alcohol-related fatalities occur. The average age of death for alcohol-specific cases in 2023 was just 57.2 years, around 20 years younger than the mean age of death for all causes in England, which stood at 78.0 years.

These figures paint a sobering picture of alcohol’s toll on communities across England. They serve as a call to action for health organisations, policymakers, and local authorities to address the growing burden of alcohol-related harm and its devastating effects on lives and health systems alike.

Source: GOV.UK

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