The number of deaths caused by alcohol in the UK has fallen for the first time since the Covid pandemic, the latest national figures show.<\/p>\n
According to data released by the Office of National Statistics (ONS), 9,809 deaths from alcohol-specific causes were registered in the UK in 2024.<\/p>\n
In what one expert calls a \u00ab\u00a0modest reduction\u00a0\u00bb, it marks the lowest number since 2021 and the lowest rate since 2020 at 14.8 deaths per 100,000 people.<\/p>\n
But campaigners say the figures underscore the urgency in tackling alcohol-related harm, labelling the data a \u00ab\u00a0cause for redoubling efforts\u00a0\u00bb.<\/p>\n
Alcohol-specific deaths \u2013 where health conditions are a direct consequence of alcohol \u2013 had been rising in the UK since 2018, hitting a record-high of 10,473 in 2023.<\/p>\n
Deaths rates fell in England and Wales, to 13.8 and 16.8 deaths per 100,000 people, respectively, in 2024 compared to 2023.<\/p>\n
Scotland and Northern Ireland continued to have the highest rates in the UK – 20.9 and 21.4 deaths per 100,000 people, respectively.<\/p>\n
Dr Richard Piper, CEO of Alcohol Change UK, told BBC News there was no single factor behind the decrease, but that the figures were still \u00ab\u00a0way too high\u00a0\u00bb.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0They are significantly higher than they were before the pandemic and are still the biggest we’ve seen in decades\u00a0\u00bb, he said.<\/p>\n
Dr Piper said pandemic stress, cost-of-living pressures and the wide availability of cheaper, store-bought alcohol were among the reasons why people were drinking more.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0More economic hardship causes an increase in drinking due to the stress and anxiety it brings, while over 70% of all alcohol is purchased at home and shop-bought alcohol is as cheap as it’s ever been,\u00a0\u00bb he said.<\/p>\n
He said a recent decrease in young people drinking, generally, would \u00ab\u00a0not necessarily lead to a reduction in deaths\u00a0\u00bb yet.<\/p>\n
The ONS data shows the North East had the highest rate of alcohol-specific deaths of any English region, at 21.1 deaths per 100,000, while London had the lowest rate – 10.9 deaths per 100,000.<\/p>\n
Dr Piper said that this was due, in part, to regional health inequalities in the UK.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0Areas with higher deprivation have higher levels of alcohol harm,\u00a0\u00bb he said.<\/p>\n
Dr Piper said deprived communities also had a lower likelihood of being able to access healthcare and a higher density of cheap alcohol outlets, meaning people may be consuming higher volumes of alcohol.<\/p>\n
At 20.2 per 100,000 men, the death rate for men in the UK in 2024 was almost double the rate for women.<\/p>\n
Age-specific rates fell for those aged between 25 and 79 compared to 2023, the ONS said, while rates for those 80 and over increased.<\/p>\n
Dr Piper said a possible reason for the increase among over-80s was the cumulative effects of alcohol over their lifetimes.<\/p>\n
Alcohol Change UK is calling on the government to introduce minimum unit pricing in England and implement controls for online marketing.<\/p>\n
Dr Piper said the government \u00ab\u00a0missing a huge trick in tackling\u00a0\u00bb alcohol-related harms because it was scared due to the UK’s \u00ab\u00a0national love affair with the substance\u00a0\u00bb.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0They’re talking a good game on health prevention, but it’s not delivering,\u00a0\u00bb he said.<\/p>\n
Dr Katherine Severi, Chief Executive, Institute of Alcohol Studies echoed the call to ramp up efforts to tackle the issue.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0Let’s be clear, alcohol deaths remain at a deeply unacceptable level, and we cannot allow that to become normal,\u00a0\u00bb she said. \u00ab\u00a0A modest reduction is not cause for complacency \u2013 it is cause for redoubling efforts.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said:<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0Any death from alcohol is a tragedy. While these figures show a slight reduction, alcohol-related deaths remain at unacceptably high levels and we are determined to drive them down.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0Our 10 Year Health Plan commitment to alcohol labelling to provide better health and nutritional information is a crucial step in supporting people to make healthier choices.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0Over the next three years, the Government is providing \u00a33.4\u202fbillion of ring-fenced funding through the Public Health Grant to support drug and alcohol prevention, treatment and recovery services.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The number of deaths caused by alcohol in the UK has fallen for the first time since the Covid pandemic, the latest national figures show. According to data released by the Office of National Statistics (ONS), 9,809 deaths from alcohol-specific causes were registered in the UK in 2024. In what one expert calls a \u00ab\u00a0modest […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-10130","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-uncategorized"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10130","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10130"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10130\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10130"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10130"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10130"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}