New figures published today by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reveal that 9,809 people died from conditions caused by alcohol across the UK in 2024.
Responding to news, Professor Sir Ian Gilmore, Chair at the Alcohol Health Alliance, said: “The 6.3% reduction in alcohol-specific deaths in 2024 is welcome, however they remain far too high and are still significantly above pre-pandemic levels. It is a stark reminder that alcohol harm continues to devastate thousands of families and communities every year.
“This small decline does not indicate meaningful progress. It is a continuation of a public health crisis that has been allowed to worsen over recent years. We know that the sharp rise in deaths since the pandemic has been driven by increasing levels of heavy drinking, widening health inequalities, and a lack of meaningful government action to reduce alcohol harm.
“These deaths are not inevitable. Evidence-based policies such as minimum unit pricing, restrictions on alcohol marketing, action to reduce availability and better funded treatment and support services can, and do, save lives. Northern Ireland recently had a clear opportunity to implement the life-saving policy of Minimum Unit Pricing but was blocked at the last hurdle. Northern Ireland is now facing its highest levels of alcohol harm on record.
“With these numbers, the government has a clear responsibility to finally take alcohol harm seriously and introduce a comprehensive national alcohol strategy that matches the scale of the problem.”
Other main points include:
- The rate of alcohol-specific deaths (14.8 per 100,000 people) decreased to its lowest recorded number since 2020 (13.9 deaths per 100,000 people)
- Age-specific rates decreased compared with 2023 for people aged between 25 and 79 years, while rates for those aged 80 years and over increased; rates for those aged 20 to 24 years remained similar to 2023.
- The rate of alcohol-specific deaths for males remained around double the rate for females (20.2 and 9.7 deaths per 100,000 people, respectively); this is consistent with previous years.
- England and Wales had a decrease in the rate of alcohol-specific deaths (13.8 and 16.8 deaths per 100,000 people, respectively) compared with 2023.
- Scotland and Northern Ireland continued to have the highest rate of alcohol-specific deaths (20.9 and 21.4 deaths per 100,000 people, respectively), with a decrease in the rate in Scotland and an increase in Northern Ireland when compared with 2023.
- The North East had the highest rate of alcohol-specific deaths of any English region (21.1 deaths per 100,000); London had the lowest rate (10.9 deaths per 100,000).
