’Wine o’clock’ takes toll on women

RECORD numbers of women are dying from alcohol abuse, official figures show.

The highest toll was among those aged in their late 50s – the result of years of indulging the ‘wine o’clock’ habit.

Last year 2,56 women died by health conditions directly caused by alcohol, the Office for National Statistics found.

The total – eight in every 100,000 women – was 0 per cent higher than the 1,823 deaths in 2001.

The drink death rate among those aged 55 to 59 was 19.6 in every 100,000 – with the ONS noting: ‘The increased rates in the older age groups may be a consequence of misuse of alcohol that began years, or even decades, earlier.’

It said the raw numbers of direct drink deaths are just an indicator of a much greater overall toll of alcohol, as they do not include indirectly linked deaths from mouth and liver cancer or hepatitis.

Karen Tyrell of the Addaction charity said: ‘For older drinkers, alcohol gradually plays a more central role in day-to-day life as a way to deal with loneliness and the sense of loss that can come with retirement.’