Health – alcohol

Official Statistics: Alcohol Profiles for England: short statistical commentary, February 2024
In 2022, there were 7,912 alcohol-specific deaths (wholly due to alcohol) in England which was an increase of 56.7% from 5,050 deaths in 2006 and a 4.7% increase since 2021. The trends in alcohol-related deaths (deaths wholly or partly due to alcohol) and deaths from chronic liver disease are similar | OHID, UK

Alcohol-specific deaths (Scotland) (2023)
There were 1,276 alcohol-specific deaths registered in Scotland in 2022, an increase of 2% (31 deaths) on 2021. Female deaths increased by 31 to 440 deaths in 2022, with the number of alcohol-specific male deaths unchanged from 2021. Male deaths continue to account for around two thirds of alcohol-specific deaths. The rate of mortality for alcohol-specific deaths was 22.9 deaths per 100,000 people in 2022, similar to the rate of 22.3 per 100,000 people in 2021 (the increase is not statistically significant). This measure takes into account the size and age-structure of the population | National Records of Scotland, UK

Alcohol-specific deaths (Scotland) (2022)
This statistical report details information on the number of deaths that were registered in Scotland in 2021 which are classified as alcohol-specific. It also includes breakdowns by sex, age, cause of death and deprivation. 1,245 people died from conditions caused by alcohol in Scotland in 2021, according to latest figures published by National Records of Scotland. The number of deaths is 5% (55) higher than 2020 and is the highest number of deaths since 2008 | National Record of Scotland, UK

Alcohol-specific deaths in the UK: registered in 2020 (2021)
Deaths caused by diseases known to be a direct consequence of alcohol misuse by sex, age, region and deprivation. In 2020, there were 8,974 deaths (14.0 per 100,000 people) from alcohol-specific causes registered in the UK, an 18.6% increase compared with 2019 (7,565 deaths; 11.8 per 100,000 people) and the highest year-on-year increase since the data time series began in 2001 | ONS, UK

Alcohol consumption and harm during the COVID-19 pandemic (2021)
A report collating data on alcohol consumption and alcohol-related harm in England during the COVID-19 pandemic and comparing it to data from previous years | PHE, UK

Global alcohol action plan 2022-2030 to strengthen implementation of the Global Strategy to Reduce the Harmful Use of Alcohol (2021)
The Global strategy contains a set of principles that should guide the development and implementation of policies at all levels and sets out priority areas for global action | WHO, Switzerland

Alcohol-specific deaths in the UK: registered in 2019 (2021)
Deaths caused by diseases known to be a direct consequence of alcohol misuse by sex, age, region and deprivation. In 2019, there were 7,565 deaths registered in the UK that related to alcohol-specific causes, the second highest since the data time series began in 2001 | ONS, UK

‘It’s everywhere’ – alcohol’s public face and private harm: The report of the Commission on Alcohol Harm (2020)
The Commission on Alcohol Harm was established to examine the current evidence on alcohol harm, recent trends in alcohol harm and the changes needed to reduce the harm caused by alcohol. The Commission’s remit was also to examine the need for a new comprehensive alcohol strategy for England, which takes account of the strategies in place in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and to consider UK-wide priorities in areas where policy is not devolved | AHA UK, UK

Alcohol labelling policies: most countries lagging behind in promoting healthier choices (2020)
According to a new report, labelling of alcoholic beverages is not consistent or even considered in many countries in the WHO European Region. The new Health Evidence Network (HEN) synthesis report on alcohol labelling across the Region is the first systematic study that covers the different ways countries label alcoholic beverages and sets out policy options for authorities to consider | WHO, Denmark

Statistics on Alcohol, England (2020)
This publication provides a range of information relating to alcohol use and misuse. Topics covered include: alcohol-related hospital admissions; alcohol-specific deaths; prescriptions for drugs used to treat alcohol dependence; drinking behaviours among adults and children; road casualties involving illegal alcohol levels and affordability of alcohol | NHS Digital, UK

Knocked Back: failing to support people sleeping rough with drug and alcohol problems is costing lives (2020)
New research reveals at least 12,000 people experiencing homelessness missed out on vital drug and alcohol services last year | St Mungo’s, UK

Alcohol-specific deaths in UK: registered in 2018 (2019)
There were 7,551 deaths registered in the UK in 2018 that related to alcohol-specific causes, lower than the previous year’s 7,697 deaths but still the second highest since the time series began in 2001 | ONS, UK

Alcohol’s harm to others (2019)
An evidence review of the harm caused by alcohol to the people around those who are drinking | PHE, UK

Statistics on Alcohol, England 2019 [PAS]
This statistical report presents a range of information on alcohol use and misuse by adults and children drawn together from a variety of sources for England unless otherwise stated | NHS Digital, UK

Alcohol-specific deaths in the UK: registered in 2017, 2018
Deaths in the UK that are known to be direct consequences of alcohol misuse, such as alcoholic liver disease | ONS, UK

Alcohol: applying All Our Health, 2018
Evidence and guidance to help healthcare professionals reduce alcohol-related harm | PHE, UK

Number of alcohol-specific deaths by sex and country of place of birth, deaths registered in England and Wales, 2007 to 2016
Number of deaths where the underlying cause was alcohol-specific; broken down by sex, year of registration and country of place of birth. For deaths registered in England and Wales between 2007 and 2016 | ONS, UK

Hospital admissions, deaths and overall burden of disease attributable to alcohol consumption in Scotland, 2018
This report provides an estimate of the number of patient admissions, deaths and overall burden of disease attributable to alcohol in Scotland | ScotPHO, UK

The public health burden of alcohol: evidence review, 2016
This review looks at the impact of alcohol on the public health and the effectiveness of alcohol control policies | PHE, UK

Alcohol and cancer trends: intervention scenarios (PDF)
Cancer Research UK commissioned the University of Sheffield to investigate how trends in alcohol consumption would affect future rates of alcohol-related harm, including cancer outcomes, and how alternative policy interventions would reduce this harm. This was undertaken using the Sheffield Alcohol Policy Model (SAPM); an advanced population simulation model designed to forecast the impact of different alcohol policies on alcohol consumption and related harm | Cancer Research UK, UK

How to keep health risks from drinking alcohol to a low level Government response to the public consultation (PDF), 2016
The new alcohol guidelines aim to help people make informed decisions about their own drinking but to do so they need to be able to understand the guidelines and what they might mean for their own drinking habits. The consultation asked whether people found the guidelines clear and easy to use. This document summarises the responses to the consultation and how the wording of the final guidelines has changed as a result | DoH, UK

UK Chief Medical Officers’ Low Risk Drinking Guidelines (PDF), 2016
Some people do not drink, but for many, alcohol is part of their social lives. As with most activities, this carries a degree of risk. With this in mind, these guidelines have been developed to enable people to make informed choices about their alcohol intake. The intention is to help people understand the risks alcohol may pose to their health and to make decisions about their consumption in the light of those risks, but not to prevent those who want to drink alcohol from doing so | DoH et al, UK

Mortality and morbidity risks from alcohol consumption in the UK – analyses using the Sheffield Alcohol Policy Model (v.2.7) to inform the UK Chief Medical Officer’s review of the UK lower risk drinking guidelines, 2016 (PDF)
This study estimates the alcohol consumption levels associated with two definitions of ‘low risk’ drinking which were developed when selecting guideline thresholds in Canada and Australia. These definitions are applied to UK data on alcohol consumption, hospitalisation and mortality alongside international epidemiological study evidence within the Sheffield Alcohol Policy Model (v.2.7) | University of Sheffield, UK

CMO Alcohol Guidelines Revew, 2016
A summary of the evidence on understanding and response to public health guidelines | Centre for Public Health, Liverpool John Moores University, UK

Drink Wise Age Well – Alcohol Use and the over 50s in the UK,  2016
This report demonstrates that there is a pressing need for action to reduce alcohol-related harm in older adults across the UK. This first State of the Nation Report from the Drink Wise, Age Well programme is a comprehensive overview of alcohol and ageing today; how much older adults drink, why they might drink and why we need to act | DrinkWise, UK

Global status report on alcohol and health 2014, 2015
The Global status report on alcohol and health 2014 presents a comprehensive perspective on the global, regional and country consumption of alcohol, patterns of drinking, health consequences and policy responses in Member States | WHO, Switzerland

Welcome to the Global Information System on Alcohol and Health (GISAH), 2015
The WHO Global Information System on Alcohol and Health (GISAH) provides easy and rapid access to a wide range of alcohol-related health indicators. It is an essential tool for assessing and monitoring the health situation and trends related to alcohol consumption, alcohol-related harm, and policy responses in countries  | WHO, Switzerland

Global strategy to reduce the harmful effects of alcohol, 2015 (PDF)
The harmful use of alcohol causes an estimated 2.5 million deaths every year, of which a significant proportion occur in the young. Alcohol use is the third leading risk factor for poor health globally. A wide variety of alcohol-related problems can have devastating impacts on individuals and their families and can seriously affect community life | WHO, Switzerland

Tackling harmful alcohol use, 2015 (PDF)
This book provides a detailed examination of trends and social disparities in alcohol consumption. It offers a wide-ranging assessment of the health, social and economic impacts of key policy options for tackling alcohol-related harms in three OECD countries (Canada, the Czech Republic and Germany), extracting relevant policy messages for a broader set of countries | OECD, Various