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News

UK alcohol stats: Lots of data, little change

3rd December 2019

Today saw the release of three reports offering snapshots of Britain’s social and health condition in relation to alcohol. They were:

  1. The Office for National Statistics Alcohol-specific deaths in the UK
  2. Public Health England Local Alcohol Profiles for England (December 2019 update)
  3. NHS Digital Health Survey for England

 

Alcohol-specific deaths in the UK

Year-on-year, the number and rate of alcohol-specific deaths in the UK showed little change (7,551, or 11.9 deaths per 100,000 people in 2018 vs 7,697 deaths, or 12.2 per 100,000 people in 2017), but they remain high compared with nearly 20 years ago. Alcoholic liver disease was the most common cause – typically, older people were most likely to suffer from it – long-term trends were most positive for Scots, and there were hints of a worsening in the alcohol-specific deaths among English women in recent years, in particular.

Alcohol-specific deaths in the UK: registered in 2018 @ONS out now

— IAS (@InstAlcStud) December 3, 2019

 

Local Alcohol Profiles for England

When focusing solely on England, the minor mortality update found tiny (but trend-continuing) increases in alcohol-related and alcohol-specific mortality.

The Local Alcohol Profiles for England December 2019 update shows slight increases in alcohol-related and alcohol-specific mortality https://t.co/nTn5e3Y0RD via @PHE_uk pic.twitter.com/t4Dollzz3x

— IAS (@InstAlcStud) December 3, 2019

 

Health Survey for England

The other all-England dataset found little change in the number of adults drinking above or below the national guideline limit of 14 units a week. 82% of adults surveyed said they drank, of which half (49%) said that they did so regularly – at least once a week or more often.

Health Survey England 2018 report finds that 82% of adults in England had drunk alcohol in the last 12 months https://t.co/LBFi5c5w6k

— IAS (@InstAlcStud) December 3, 2019

 

More news items
One in three children report negative outcomes from parents’ drinking
Reformulate sugary alcohol drinks

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