Alcohol-related deaths in the UK have reached a record high.
It is the fourth consecutive year a new record in the number of deaths specifically caused by alcohol has been reported by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Experts said several measures should be brought in to tackle the “growing health crisis”, including minimum unit pricing, health warnings on labels and tighter advertising regulations.
Some 10,473 deaths from alcohol-specific causes – where health conditions are a direct consequence of alcohol – were registered in the UK in 2023.
It was 4% more than the 10,048 deaths registered in 2022 and a 38% increase on the 2019 total.
Although the number of deaths increased, the rate fell slightly to 15.9 deaths per 100,000 people from 16.6 per 100,000 a year earlier.
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The rate of deaths in males (21.9 per 100,000) remained around double that in females (10.3 per 100,000) in 2023.
Age-specific death rates for people between the ages of 25 and 59 fell for the first time since 2020, while death rates for those aged 20 to 24 and over 60 remained similar to 2022.
In England, the North East had the highest rate of 25.7 deaths per 100,000 while the East Midlands had the lowest at 11.5 deaths per 100,000.
Scotland and Northern Ireland continued to have the highest death rate in the UK, with Scotland’s rate remaining stable at 22.6 in 2023 and Northern Ireland decreasing to 18.5 per 100,000.
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‘Easily accessible alcohol and aggressive marketing’
Professor Sir Ian Gilmore, chairman of the Alcohol Health Alliance, said: “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.”
‘Policymakers must get serious’
Ash Singleton, director of research and public affairs at Alcohol Change UK, added: “The tragically high number of alcohol-specific deaths, and the thousands more not reflected in this data where alcohol is a contributing factor, are not a coincidence, but a direct result of years of government inaction to tackle this harm to save and improve lives.
“The number of people drinking at hazardous and harmful levels, that is over the chief medical officers’ low risk drinking guidelines of 14 units a week, increases year on year.
“To prevent these figures rising further, policymakers must get serious about alcohol harm by focusing on prevention.”
