UK Alcohol-Specific Deaths Decrease to 9,809 in 2024, Campaigners Urge Further Action
The number of alcohol-specific deaths across the UK registered its first decline since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, with 9,809 fatalities recorded in 2024. Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows this represents the lowest figure since 2021 and a rate of 14.8 deaths per 100,000 people, the lowest since 2020.
Despite this “modest reduction”, as termed by one expert, campaigners maintain that the figures underscore an urgent requirement for greater efforts to combat alcohol-related harm. Alcohol-specific deaths, defined by health conditions directly attributable to alcohol consumption, had been on an upward trajectory in the UK since 2018, peaking at 10,473 in 2023.
Regional Disparities and Underlying Factors
Death rates fell in England and Wales to 13.8 and 16.8 per 100,000 people respectively in 2024, compared to the preceding year. Conversely, Scotland and Northern Ireland continued to report the highest rates across the UK, at 20.9 and 21.4 deaths per 100,000 people respectively.
Dr Richard Piper, CEO of Alcohol Change UK, noted that no single factor accounted for the decrease, yet emphasised that the figures remained “way too high” and significantly above pre-pandemic levels. He pointed to pandemic-induced stress, cost-of-living pressures, and the widespread availability of inexpensive, shop-bought alcohol as contributing to increased consumption. The North East of England registered the highest regional rate at 21.1 deaths per 100,000, while London recorded the lowest at 10.9, illustrating persistent health inequalities.
Men continued to experience a disproportionately higher death rate, with 20.2 per 100,000 men in the UK in 2024, nearly double that for women. While age-specific rates declined for individuals aged 25 to 79, those aged 80 and over saw an increase, potentially due to the cumulative effects of lifelong alcohol use.
Calls for Government Action
Organisations like Alcohol Change UK are advocating for the implementation of minimum unit pricing in England and enhanced controls on online marketing of alcohol. Dr Piper suggested the government was “missing a huge trick” in addressing alcohol harms, attributing this reluctance to the UK’s “national love affair with the substance.”
Dr Katherine Severi, chief executive of the Institute of Alcohol Studies, reiterated calls for urgent action. She stated: “Let’s be clear, alcohol deaths remain at a deeply unacceptable level, and we cannot allow that to become normal. A modest reduction is not cause for complacency – it is cause for redoubling efforts.”
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson acknowledged the tragedy of alcohol-related deaths and committed to driving down the high levels. They cited the 10-Year Health Plan’s commitment to alcohol labelling and the provision of £3.4 billion in ring-fenced funding for drug and alcohol prevention, treatment, and recovery services over the next three years.
