Alcohol Deaths Double Among Men

29 January 2013, 17:29 | Updated: 30 March 2016, 13:50

Men are twice as likely as women to die from alcohol-related causes - and those figures are even higher in the North of England.

In 2011, about 66% of the 8,748 alcohol-related deaths in the UK were men and around 33% were women - according to stats from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

In England and Wales, excessive drink consumption accounted for 1.5% of deaths.

Death rates were highest for people aged between 55 and 59 and lowest for those under 30.

Over the last decade, alcohol-related death rates have varied from region to region across England and tended to be highest in the North and lowest in the East of England.

But in 2011, statistics show that Welsh women were much more likely to die from alcohol-related causes, including liver disease and alcohol poisoning, than women in England.

Of every 100,000 Welsh women, 9.5 died due to alcohol consumption compared with 7.6 in English women.

Eric Appleby, chief executive of charity Alcohol Concern, said:
"These numbers are still terrifyingly high and show how desperately we need the Government to take serious action on alcohol misuse.

If these numbers of people died in any other way we'd consider it a national emergency and take immediate action to stop it from happening.

With the Government's new alcohol strategy we have an opportunity to make the kinds of changes, like introducing minimum unit pricing and tougher licensing regulations, which have the potential to save lives, reduce crime and save the economy millions.

We're urging the Government to act bravely and make those changes.''