Your web browser is outdated and may be insecure

The RCN recommends using an updated browser such as Microsoft Edge or Google Chrome

Man-drinking-out-of-a-beer-bottle

Introduction to alcohol misuse

Alcohol misuse is a significant public health issue. The effects of alcohol impact on the health and wellbeing of individuals, but also on families and the wider population.

Dependent drinkers are at a much higher risk of alcohol-related ill health than non-drinkers. Alcohol is said to be a causal factor in more than 60 medical conditions, including circulatory and digestive diseases, cancer, liver disease and depression.

Public Health England estimates that there were 280,000 admissions to hospitals in 2019/20 where the main reason was due to alcohol. This is 2% higher than 2018/19 and 8% higher than 2016/17.

Statistics also reveal that in 2020/21 167,000 prescription items were dispensed to treat alcohol dependence (1% higher than 2019/20, but 15% lower than 2014/15).

Rates of death from alcohol-related liver disease

The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities has reported that around 90% of liver deaths in England are related to lifestyle and unhealthy environments. The vast majority of these are alcohol-related.

According to The Chief Medical Officer’s Annual Report for 2023, alcohol-specific liver disease is the only leading cause of death in England that is increasing significantly, having increased by 87% between 2001 and 2021.

In terms of how it is affecting people across the country, an update to the UK government’s 2021 mortality data revealed that rates of premature death from alcohol-related liver disease was 17.2 per 100,000 population of people under the age of 75, 16.5 in the north west, 13.6 in Yorkshire and Humber and 13.4 in the West Midlands. 

The north west region had the largest number of premature deaths from alcohol-related liver disease (1,082), followed by the south east with 756 deaths and west midlands with 689 deaths.

To summarise: 

Supermarket alcohol 188% more affordable than 30 years ago 

New figures from the Institute of Alcohol Studies (IAS) show that supermarket beer is almost 188% more affordable today than it was 30 years ago, and that its affordability has risen by 22% since 2012.

The IAS research is the first to compare affordability in the off-trade (supermarkets and off-licences) to the on-trade (pubs, bars, hotels and restaurants) using data up to 2016. Using an affordability index adjusting prices for inflation and income growth, the study shows a widening gulf between pubs and supermarkets. 
See also: Alcohol Health Alliance.

Alcohol Change UK

In 2017, Alcohol Change UK launched as a new national charity to reduce alcohol harm. The charity formed as a merger of Alcohol Concern and Alcohol Research UK. The charity says its vision is 'a world free from serious alcohol harm'.

As part of the launch, the charity has released the Alcohol Change Report, which makes the case for 'change being not only needed, but possible'. 

Visit Alcohol Change UK

Further resources

NICE. Alcohol interventions in secondary and further educationThis guideline covers interventions in secondary and further education to prevent and reduce alcohol use among children and young people aged 11 up to and including 18

NICE. Alcohol. This page lists all NICE products on alcohol, including guidance, pathways and quality standards

Page last updated - 03/10/2024