Record death levels from alcohol misuse

DEATHS due to alcohol misuse are at record levels in Leicestershire.

There were 198 alcohol-specific deaths in the county between 20162018 - the highest number in any three year period since records began in 2006-2008, and up from 195 in 2013-15.

Alcohol-specific deaths only include health conditions where each death is a direct consequence of alcohol misuse, such as alcoholic liver disease.

The figures - published by Public Health England - mean that Leicestershire had a rate of 9.5 alcohol specific deaths per 100,000 people between 2016-2018. That compares to a rate of 10.8 per 100,000 across England.

The figures also cover the number of deaths where alcohol misuse was a contributing factor.

There were 319 such deaths in Leicestershire in 2018 - the highest number since records began in 2008. Across the UK, there were 7,551 alcohol-specific deaths in 2018.

That was down from the previous year’s total of 7,697, but was still the second highest number since records began in 2001.

Rates across the UK (11.9 deaths per 100,000) have remains mostly unchanged since 2011. However, they remain significantly higher than in 2001, when they stood at 10.6 deaths per 100,000.

Dr Richard Piper, Chief Executive of Alcohol Change UK, said: “These latest figures show that death rates directly related to alcohol continue to remain far too high. The tragedy is that these deaths are totally preventable.

“But because of the relentless funding cuts in alcohol treatment, those who are struggling are unable to access specialist support when they need it. This puts an enormous strain on the individuals themselves and their families, as well as our over-stretched frontline services.

“We know that it’s easy to fall into the habit of drinking too much, particularly to cope when things get on top of us.”

Alcohol misuse is hitting older people particularly hard. In 2018, the highest alcohol-specific death rate was among those aged 55-59 for men and 60-64 years for women.