Deaths wholly attributable to alcohol reached a record high in 2022, with 10,048 people dying.
This is an increase of 4.2% from 2021 and a huge 33% from 2019.
IAS’s Chief Executive, Dr Katherine Severi, said:
Year after year now we have seen tragic increases in deaths from alcohol, which disproportionately affect the most deprived communities in our country. The rise has also been especially high among women, with 37% more than in 2019. How many more deaths are needed before the UK government wakes up?
Alcohol is the biggest killer of working age people. So even if the government doesn’t feel the moral imperative to act, there is a clear economic benefit of supporting people to live healthier lives.
We know the public wants more action to reduce alcohol harm and we know how to do it: restrict irresponsible promotions, tackle ultra-cheap products with minimum unit pricing, and empower local leaders to control the availability of alcohol in areas with high rates of harm. It’s time to put public health before private profit. We simply can’t allow these deaths to continue to spiral.