New figures, published by the Office of Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) as part of their Local Alcohol Profiles for England, show that England set another unwanted record in 2023, with the highest number of alcohol-specific deaths on record.
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.
OHID's most recent estimates suggest that alcohol-specific deaths make up just over a third of all deaths caused by alcohol. This means that the true situation is considerably worse than this new data suggests.
I was asked by the Institute of Alcohol Studies to write an article for their Blog, digging into the data further and looking at possible reasons for the increase.
In the post 'New alcohol mortality data presents a bleak picture for England', I explore possible contributing factors such as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on drinking patterns, the rise of heavy drinking among older adults, and the potential influence of the cost-of-living crisis.
The analysis also highlights regional disparities, where for the first time on record the rate of alcohol-specific deaths in the North East of England has overtaken the rate in Scotland. I also discuss the potential positive impact of minimum unit pricing in Scotland in the context of these latest figures.
Read the full post on the Institute of Alcohol Studies Blog.