Alcohol Policy UK

Statistics on Alcohol England 2020: alcohol-related admissions continue to rise

The annual Statistics on Alcohol for England 2020 has been released, detailing national data for key alcohol-related indicators and health harms including the latest Local Alcohol Profiles for England (LAPE) data update.

On the key headline figures of hospital admissions, a continued rise in the broad measure brings annual alcohol-related admissions to a new peak of 1.26 million, 8% higher than the previous year. Increases in the rate have been observed every year for over a decade, first passing the million mark in 2010. Alcohol-related episodes now reflect 7.4% of all hospital admissions. See IAS Twittery summary here and Daily Mail story.

Latest 2019 alcohol-specific deaths, HSE, Scotland & domestic abuse data

Alcohol-specific deaths 2018

The latest ONS figures on alcohol-specific deaths show in 2018 there were 7,551 deaths registered in the UK related to alcohol-specific causes. The rate is the second highest since records began in 2001, representing a 13% increase over the period, but down by 146 from the previous year's peak of 7,697. Alcohol-specific death rates were highest among men aged 55 to 59 years and women aged 60 to 64 years in 2018, at least twice as high among men and highest in Scotland.

An article in The Conversation explores the range of factors behind alcohol deaths, calling for better use of policy measures available to reduce alcohol harms. An IAS blog has explored the party manifestos say on alcohol policy (see APUK's analysis here) ahead of the forthcoming snap election on December 12.

Health Survey England (HSE) 2018

One in five hospital patients harmful drinkers, new study finds

A new study highlighting the extent of alcohol problems amongst hospital patients has attracted media attention, indicating 1 in 5 are harmful drinkers and 1 in 10 are alcohol dependent.

The research used data from 124 studies covering 1.7 million patients in UK hospitals, indicating the level of harmful drinking amongst hospital patients is ten times higher than the general population, and eight times higher for alcohol dependence.

Hangovers cost society £1.4 billion says IAS

A new report from the Institute of Alcohol Studies (IAS) says the cost of hangovers is up to £1.4 billion a year, with as many as 89,000 people may be turning up to work hungover or under the influence of alcohol every day.

Download 'The cost of workplace hangovers and intoxication to the UK economy' [pdf]

Key findings from a survey of 3,400 British workers that found:

'Encouraging signs' as consumption falls one year after Scotland's MUP

The first official data on alcohol sales has been released since the introduction of minimum unit pricing (MUP) in Scotland on 1st May 2018, indicating a fall in consumption to 'the lowest level seen' in Scotland since 1994 when data collection began.

The news was welcomed by supporters of the policy as an early indication that MUP may be starting to have the desired effect of reducing consumption by removing the cheapest alcoholic drinks from the off-trade market.

WHO alcohol country factsheets: UK policy falling short?

The World Health Organization (WHO) has released a series of alcohol country factsheets for Europe, including for the UK [pdf].

The resource provides a range of available data and policy rankings for each country compared with the EU average. The UK factsheet draws on a range of data sources, highlighting trends and figures shown in other reports such as the annual Statistics on Alcohol for England.

Whilst identifying the overall decline in UK consumption, the factsheet does not explicitly highlight the role of young people's drinking as driving force behind the change; adult's consumption has been stable or risen in older aged drinkers.

Britain top for 'binge drinking' says Global Drugs Survey 2019

The release of the latest Global Drug Survey has prompted various media stories reporting the UK as topping the table for drunkenness, with UK GDS respondents reporting getting drunk 51 times in the last year versus an average of 33 times for all countries in the survey.

The findings may provoke further debate about the UK's drinking culture - or its various aspects - despite significant falls in drinking and drunkenness amongst younger people. However, despite a 10% fall in overall consumption over the last three decades as recently reported in the Lancet, middle and older adult's drinking has yet to see falls, with warnings over cuts to services and absence of key policy measures repeatedly made by many health groups.

Statistics on Alcohol England 2019

The annual Statistics on Alcohol for England 2019 has been released, detailing national data for key alcohol-related indicators and health harms including the latest Local Alcohol Profiles for England (LAPE) data update and reported by The Independent and The Guardian.

The 2019 national statistics are no longer available to download as a report, but mostly compiles data from previously released data summarised in web page sections on:

• Part 1: Alcohol-related hospital admissions
• Part 2: Alcohol-specific deaths
• Part 3: Alcohol-related prescriptions
• Part 4: Drinking behaviours among adults
• Part 5: Drinking behaviours among children
• Part 6: Road casualties involving illegal alcohol levels
• Part 7: Expenditure and affordability

News & updates January 2019: airline 'double standards', pubs, Dry January, gin & more

Selected media stories since the December 2018 round up:

Airlines are not serious about tackling alcohol-related problems on flights, according to research by Which?Travel, which puts Ryanair top for disruptive behaviour. Which? say one in ten passengers experienced bad behaviour on flights in the past year, yet many flight companies still seek to maximise onboard alcohol sales.

An easyJet flight attendant spoke to Which? anonymously, saying airlines only pay ‘lip service’ as airlines encourage staff to push alcohol sales, whilst reporting drunk or disorderly behaviour can mean unpaid hours of sitting around waiting to fill in additional paperwork. Closely behind Ryanair in the bad behaviour table was Thomas Cook, followed by Tui then Easyjet. The government is currently consulting on whether airports should remain exempt from the Licensing Act.

HSE & alcohol death rates in 2017: deaths up, consumption down?

A coordinated release of new national data reports include the latest figures on alcohol-related deaths and self-reported consumption. The releases again highlight the important nuances behind headlines trends of rising deaths but of a downward trend in drinking, at least amongst younger drinkers.

Health Survey England (HSE) 2017

According to the latest HSE data, 63% of men and 52% of women reported drinking alcohol in the last week, with 19% of adults reporting not drinking in the last 12 months. Sixty per cent of adults drank at lower risk, that is within the 14 units per week CMO guideline, whilst 28% of men and 14% of women drank at either increasing or higher risk levels.