There were 10,473 deaths from alcohol-specific causes registered in the UK in 2023, according to the latest ONS figures, the highest number on record.
The figure is more than 400 higher than the previous year’s then-record total of 10,048, and an increase of almost 40 per cent since 2019.
As in previous years, the death rate for men was around double that for women and the North East had the highest alcohol-specific death rate of any English region – at 25.7 deaths per 100,000 people, compared to 11.5 per 100,000 in the East of England region. Scotland and Northern Ireland had the highest overall rates of alcohol-specific deaths – at 22.6 and 18.5 per 100,000, respectively – while the rates for England and Wales were 15 and 17.7 per 100,000.
Alcohol-specific deaths only include those that can be wholly attributed to alcohol – such as alcohol-related liver disease – and exclude deaths from causes ‘that are made more likely by alcohol’ such as heart disease or various cancers. While 2023’s total is the highest recorded, however, the overall rate of alcohol specific deaths has actually decreased slightly from 16.6 per 100,000 in 2022 to 15.9 per 100,000, ONS points out.
The figures painted a ‘bleak picture of the ongoing harm caused by alcohol across the UK’, said Alcohol Health Alliance chair Professor Sir Ian Gilmore. ‘The drivers of this crisis are well known – cheap, easily accessible alcohol and aggressive marketing that normalises excessive drinking – as are the solutions proven to reduce harm. Measures such as minimum unit pricing, improved advertising regulations, mandatory health warnings on labels, and better investment in alcohol treatment services must be implemented across all UK nations without delay.’
‘We’ve seen record-high deaths from alcohol in the UK every single year since the pandemic,’ added Institute of Alcohol Studies chief executive Dr Katherine Severi. ‘This simply cannot become the new normal, so the government must make tackling alcohol harm a top priority in 2025.’
Alcohol-specific deaths in the UK: registered in 2023 available here