More Men, Fewer Women Die From Drink

January 27, 2012, 9:26 am

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Slightly more men and slightly fewer women are dying from alcohol abuse, the latest Government statistics show.

The two figures combined show that more people in the UK died from alcohol-linked causes in 2010 than in the previous year.

The number of deaths among men rose from 5,690 in 2009 to 5,865 in 2010 - an increase of 175.

In women the number fell from 2,974 in 2009 to 2,925 in 2010.

The figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed that men accounted for more than two-thirds (67 per cent) of all the UK alcohol-related deaths.

The death rate was highest in the past decade for those in the 55-74 age group and lowest among those aged under 35.

Death rates were 22.6 per 100,000 population in the North East, 21.3 per 100,000 in the North West and 18.9 per 100,000 in Wales. They were lowest in the East of England.

Alcohol-related deaths accounted for almost 1.5% of all deaths in England and Wales in 2010.

Public health minister Anne Milton said: "The ONS has highlighted the rise in the total number of men dying from alcohol-related causes in the last year.

"We will set out a new approach to tackling alcohol harm shortly in our alcohol strategy for England.

"As part of that, we will be giving local councils the power and the budget to help them tackle the huge variations we see in levels of harm in different regions of England.

"Before that, next month, we are launching new Change4Life adverts which, for the first time, will help people realise the damage drinking too much can do to our health."

Colin Shevills, director of Balance, the North East's alcohol office, said: "This morning's report is further proof that alcohol misuse ends lives in the North East and that more needs to be done.

"Once again our region tops the tables and we've seen an astonishing leap in alcohol-related deaths over the last two decades."

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