Number of alcohol deaths reaches record high as experts warn of "public health crisis"

5 February 2025, 10:47

The number of deaths across the UK specifically caused by alcohol has reached a record high, according to new figures.

It is the fourth consecutive year a new record has been reported by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Some 10,473 deaths from alcohol-specific causes were registered in the UK in 2023, up from 10,048 in 2022.

While the number deaths increased, the rate fell slightly to 15.9 deaths per 100,000 people from 16.6 per 100,000 a year earlier.

Read More: Alcohol prices rising as higher tax and duties take effect

Read More: Shocking moment TV boss is restrained for hurling drink and wig at flight attendant after being refused alcohol

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 fell for the first time since 2020 for people between the ages of 25 and 59, the ONS said.

Death rates for those aged 20 to 24 and over 60 remained the similar to 2022.

In England and Wales, death rates increased between 2022 and 2023 to 15.0 and 17.7 per 100,000 people.

The English region with the highest rate - 25.7 deaths per 100,000 - was the North East, while the East Midlands was the lowest at 11.5 deaths per 100,000.

Clare Taylor, chief operating officer at Turning Point, warned the "continued high level of alcohol deaths is a public health crisis".

"Alcohol related deaths are preventable, and access to treatment remains the key protective factor," she added.

"While numbers in treatment have increased significantly, too many are not getting the support they need early enough and there is still a great deal of stigma associated with alcohol problems.

"Preventing alcohol harm needs to be a national policy priority.

"We need better education and training for healthcare professionals working in GP surgeries, A&E departments and on hospital wards, and better joint working with community drug and alcohol services."

Commenting on the figures, Pamela Healy, chief executive of the British Liver Trust, said: "Unfortunately these figures aren't surprising.

"We are living in the shadow of harmful and hazardous drinking that is only increasing since the pandemic, and these latest figures highlight the terrifying scale of this growing health crisis."

Dr Katherine Severi, chief executive of the Institute of Alcohol Studies, said: "We've seen record-high deaths from alcohol in the UK every single year since the pandemic.

"This simply cannot become the new normal, so the Government must make tackling alcohol harm a top priority in 2025."

Scotland and Northern Ireland continued to have the highest death rate, the ONS said.

While Scotland's death rate remained stable in 2023, the rate in Northern Ireland decreased to 18.5 per 100,000 people.

Laura Mahon, deputy chief executive of Alcohol Focus Scotland, said the figures demonstrate "that Scotland and the rest of the UK is firmly in the grip of an alcohol health emergency".

"The truth is that a majority of these deaths, mostly caused by liver disease, come as a result of people drinking heavily over the course of many years - with one in five Scots drinking at a level which could be harmful to their health, including increasing their risk of liver disease and cancer," she added.

"Unfortunately, the Covid pandemic exacerbated drinking patterns and we saw those who were already drinking heavily increase their consumption.

"The industry seeks to keep people in the dark about the health harms of alcohol by failing to provide us with the clear information we need to be able to make informed choices about our health."