Alcohol has killed a record number of people in 2022 as heavier drinking during the Covid pandemic took its toll in Britain, new official figures show.
Nearly 2,500 more people died from alcohol consumption than in 2019 (7,565 deaths), the year before the virus struck and caused already heavy drinkers to increase their intake, the Office for National Statistics said.
That 33% jump in alcohol-related deaths means 10,048 people died from alcohol-specific causes – the highest level since records began in 2001 and a sharp increase from the pre-pandemic trend that had been stable since 2012. Scotland and Northern Ireland recorded more deaths than England per capita.
“Research has suggested that people who were already drinking at high levels before the pandemic were the most likely to have increased their alcohol consumption during this period,” said David Mais, health statistician at the ONS. “This is likely a factor in the increase in alcohol-related deaths we have seen in 2022. Alcoholic liver disease was the leading cause of these deaths, and as in previous years, the rates are much higher among men (about double).”
In England, the North East was the worst affected region.
When the pandemic hit and pubs and restaurants closed, people in England bought an additional 12.6 million liters of alcohol from off-licences in 2020-2021 compared to 2019-2020. There was also a 57% increase in alcohol consumption between March 2020 and March 2021. percentage of respondents drinking with increasing risk and higher risk levels, according to previous research by Public Health England, now replaced by the UK Health Security Agency and Office for Health Improvement and Disparities.
No restrictions were imposed on alcohol purchases in Britain, while countries including South Africa, Thailand, India, Kenya and Barbados restricted sales to, among other things, reduce social contacts that could spread the virus and reducing hospital admissions due to alcohol-fuelled violence.
“Each of these deaths is a tragedy, representing an individual whose life was cut short, leaving people to grieve and miss them every day,” said Dr Richard Piper, CEO of Alcohol Change UK. “Years of inaction on alcohol harm has led to this, and the heartbreaking thing is that these deaths were completely avoidable. Our government has the responsibility and the power to take preventive measures, including proper regulation of alcohol marketing, clearer alcohol labeling and a minimum price for a unit of alcohol.”
The number of people in treatment for alcohol in England increased only slightly – 2% – in the year to March 2023, but there are concerns that some people with drinking problems may not get help.
Piper said that from 2013–14 to 2020–21, the number of adults in England treated for problems involving alcohol (and no other drugs) fell by 16%.