Alcohol Consumption UK: Consequences

In 2023, 6% of adults were drinking at high risk or possible dependent levels (AUDIT score 16+).

• 3% of adults were possible dependent drinkers (AUDIT score 20+).
• 8% of men drank at high risk or possible dependent levels compared to 4% of women.
• 9% of adults aged between 18 and 24 drank at high risk or possible dependent levels compared to 1% of adults aged 76+.

Source: Drinkaware Monitor 2023

In 2023, 5% of adults were drinking at high risk or possible dependent levels (AUDIT score 16+).

• 2% of adults were possible dependent drinkers (AUDIT score 20+).
• 7% of men drank at high risk or possible dependent levels compared to 4% of women.
• 10% of adults aged between 18 and 24 drank at high risk or possible dependent levels compared to 0% of adults aged 76+

Source: Drinkaware Monitor 2023

In 2023, 4% of adults were drinking at high risk or possible dependent levels (AUDIT score 16+).

• 2% of adults were possible dependent drinkers (AUDIT score 20+).
• 6% of men drank at high risk or possible dependent levels compared to 3% of women.
• 6% of adults aged between 18 and 24 drank at high risk or possible dependent levels compared to 0% of adults aged 76+.

Source: Drinkaware Monitor 2023

In 2023, 6% of adults were drinking at high risk or possible dependent levels (AUDIT score 16+).

• 3% of adults were possible dependent drinkers (AUDIT score 20+).
• 8% of men drank at high risk or possible dependent levels compared to 3% of women.
• 6% of adults aged between 18 and 54 drank at high risk or possible dependent levels compared to 5% of adults aged 55+

Source: Drinkaware Monitor 2023

In 2023, 6% of adults were drinking at high risk or possible dependent levels (AUDIT score 16+).

• 3% of adults were possible dependent drinkers (AUDIT score 20+).
• 7% of men drank at high risk or possible dependent levels compared to 4% of women.
• 7% of adults aged between 18 and 54 drank at high risk or possible dependent levels compared to 3% of adults aged 55+

Source: Drinkaware Monitor 2023

In 2022/23, there were an estimated 122,030 people in treatment for alcohol.

• 76,444 men and 45,586 women were in treatment for alcohol dependence.
• 55% of adults completed treatment for alcohol dependence successfully.
• The number of adults in treatment for alcohol increased from 49,958 to 122,030 between 2005/06 and 2022/23.

Source: Adult substance misuse treatment statistics 2022 to 2023

In 2021/22, there were 8,536 referrals to treatment services where the main problematic substance was alcohol.

• 4,500 of these referrals were for men and 4,036 were for women.
• 4,471 of these referrals were for adults aged 30 to 49.
• The number of referrals where alcohol was the main problematic substance declined from 9,404 to 8,534 between 2017/18 and 2021/22.

Source: Treatment Data – Substance Misuse in Wales

In 2019/20, there were 75,616 Alcohol Brief Interventions (ABIs) delivered.

• The number of ABIs delivered decreased from 80,575 in 2018/19.
• The number of ABIs delivered was 24% more than the minimum number set out in the Local Delivery Plan (LDP) standard.
• Most ABIs were delivered in priority settings such as primary care (52.7%), Accident & Emergency departments (12.4%) and antenatal settings (2.2%). 32.8% were delivered in wider settings.

Source: Alcohol Brief Interventions

In 2021/22, a total of 2,088 clients had presented to treatment for alcohol misuse.

• 1,351 clients were men and 737 clients were women.
• 1,085 clients were aged 40+ and 123 were aged under 18. 295 were aged between 18 and 25 and 583 were aged between 26 and 39.
• The number of client presenting to treatment for alcohol misuse declined from 2,705 in 2016/17 to 2,088 in 2021/22.

Source: Statistics from the Northern Ireland Substance Misuse Database: April 2021 to March 2022

Based on a broad measure of alcohol-related hospital admissions:

• In 2021/22, there were an estimated 948,310 admissions related to alcohol consumption which increased from 841,760 in 2016/17.
• The rate of admissions for alcohol-related conditions was 1,734 per 100,000 population.
• 690,660 of the alcohol-related hospital admissions were attributable to men whereas 257,650 were attributable to women.

Based on a narrow measure of alcohol-related hospital admissions:

• In 2021/22, there were an estimated 270,770 admissions where the main reason was attributable to alcohol which increased from 258,900 in 2016/17.
• The rate of admissions where the main reason was attributable to alcohol was 494 per 100,000 population.
• 174,540 of the alcohol-related hospital admissions were attributable to men whereas 96,230 were attributable to women.

Source: Local Alcohol Profiles for England

Based on a broad measure of alcohol-related hospital admissions:

• In 2021/22, there were an estimated 25,146 alcohol-attributable hospital admissions which decreased from 55,019 in 2017/18.
• The rate of admissions for alcohol-related conditions was 1,630 per 100,000 population.
• 16,230 of the alcohol-related hospital admissions were attributable to men whereas 8,916 were attributable to women.

Based on a narrow measure of alcohol-related hospital admissions:

• In 2021/22, there were an estimated 13,124 admissions to hospital with an alcohol-specific condition which decreased from 14,609 in 2017/18.
• The rate of admissions to hospital with an alcohol-specific condition was 498 per 100,000 population.
• 8,996 of the admissions to hospital with an alcohol-specific condition were attributable to men whereas 4,819 were attributable to women.

Source: Health Maps Wales; Data Mining Wales

In 2022/23, there were an estimated 31,206 admissions related to alcohol consumption which decreased from 38,199 in 2019/20.

• Most alcohol-related hospital admissions were treated in general acute hospitals (28,800) whereas 2,406 were treated in psychiatric hospitals.
• The rate of alcohol-related hospital admissions was 577 per 100,000 population.
• 21,423 alcohol-related hospital admissions were attributable to men whereas 9,783 were attributable to women.

Source: Public Health Scotland - Alcohol related hospital statistics

Based on a broad measure of alcohol-related hospital admissions:

• In 2019/20, there were an estimated 12,086 admissions to hospital for alcohol-related conditions which increased from 11,543 in 2009/10.
• In 2019/20, 8,263 men were admitted to hospital for alcohol-related conditions compared to 3,463 women.

Based on a narrow measure of alcohol-related hospital admissions:

• In 2019/20, there were an estimated 4,192 admissions to hospital where the main reason was attributable to alcohol which increased from 3,475 in 2009/10. 
• In 2019/20, 3,092 men were admitted to hospital where the main reason was attributable to alcohol compared to 1,100 women. 

Source: HSCNI - Extent of substance use and misuse in Northern Ireland

In 2021, there were 7,558 alcohol-specific deaths.

• The alcohol-specific death rate was 13.9 per 100,000 population which increased from 10.9 in 2011.
• The rate of alcohol-specific deaths for men was 18.6 per 100,000 population compared to 9.4 for women.
• 6,060 deaths were due to alcoholic liver disease.

Source: Office for National Statistics - Alcohol-specific deaths in the UK

In 2021, there were 472 alcohol-specific deaths.

• The alcohol-specific death rate was 15.0 per 100,000 population which increased from 12.4 in 2011.
• The rate of alcohol-specific deaths for men was 21.1 per 100,000 population compared to 9.2 for women.
• 406 deaths were due to alcoholic liver disease.

Source: Office for National Statistics - Alcohol-specific deaths in the UK

In 2022, there were 1,276 alcohol-specific deaths.

• The alcohol-specific death rate was 22.9 per 100,000 population which increased from 21.9 in 2011.
• The rate of alcohol-specific deaths for men was 31.4 per 100,000 population compared to 15.2 for women.
• 778 deaths were due to alcoholic liver disease.

Source: National Records of Scotland - Alcohol-specific deaths

In 2022, there were 356 alcohol-specific deaths.

• The alcohol-specific death rate was 18.6 per 100,000 population which increased from 12.6 in 2011.
• The rate of alcohol-specific deaths for men was 24.7 per 100,000 population compared to 12.8 for women.
• 258 deaths were due to alcoholic liver disease.

Source: Alcohol-specific deaths in Northern Ireland, 2022

In 2021, there were 9,641 alcohol-specific deaths.

• The alcohol-specific death rate was 14.8 per 100,000 population which increased from 12.0 in 2011.
• The rate of alcohol-specific deaths for men was 20.1 per 100,000 population compared to 9.9 for women.
• 7,518 deaths were due to alcoholic liver disease.

Source: Office for National Statistics - Alcohol-specific deaths in the UK

In 2022/23, there were an estimated 384,000 incidents of violent crime where the victim believed the offender(s) to be under the influence of alcohol.

• The victim believed the offender(s) to be under the influence of alcohol in 38% of all violent incidents.
• The victim believed the offender(s) was under the influence of alcohol in 40% of all violent incidents with injury and 37% of all violent incidents without injury.
• The proportion of violent crime where the victim believed the offender(s) to be under the influence of alcohol declined from 52% to 38% between 2012/13 and 2022/23.

Source: Nature of crime: violence

In 2021/22, there were an estimated 134,000 incidents of violent crime.

• The victim believed the offender(s) to be under the influence of alcohol in 37% of all violent incidents.
• The proportion of violent crime where the victim believed the offender(s) to be under the influence of alcohol declined from 59% to 37% between 2012/13 and 2021/22.
• 17% of victims of violent crime reported being under the influence of alcohol during the incident.

Source: Scottish Crime and Justice Survey 2021/22

In 2022/23, there were an estimated 17,164 incidents of violent crime where the victim believed the offender(s) to be under the influence of alcohol.  

• The victim believed the offender(s) to be under the influence of alcohol in 34% of all violent incidents.
• The victim believed the offender(s) was under the influence of alcohol in 50% of all violent incidents with injury and 40% of all violent incidents without injury.
• The proportion of violent crime where the victim believed the offender(s) to be under the influence of alcohol declined from 47% to 34% between 2012/13 and 2022/23.

 Source: PSNI: Police Recorded Crime in Northern Ireland 1998 99 to 2022 23

In 2021, approximately 6,210 people were injured or killed on roads where a driver or rider was over the alcohol limit.

• The number of people injured or killed on roads where a drive or rider was over the alcohol limit decreased from 8,700 to 6,210 between 2011 and 2021.
• There were 4,290 drink drive collisions in 2021 which declined from 5,860 in 2011.
• 240 people died in drink drive collisions which increased from 210 in 2011.

Source: Department for Transport - Reported drinking and driving: data tables

In 2021, approximately 320 people were injured or killed on roads where a driver or rider was over the alcohol limit.

• The number of people injured or killed on roads where a drive or rider was over the alcohol limit decreased from 550 to 320 between 2011 and 2021.
• There were 220 drink drive collisions in 2021 which declined from 350 in 2011.
• 20 people died in drink drive collisions which increased from 10 in 2011.

Source: Department for Transport - Reported drinking and driving: data tables

In 2021, approximately 210 people were injured or killed on roads where a driver or rider was over the alcohol limit.

• The number of people injured or killed on roads where a drive or rider was over the alcohol limit decreased from 670 to 210 between 2011 and 2021.
• There were 150 drink drive collisions in 2021 which declined from 490 in 2011.
• 10 people died in drink drive collisions which was no change from 2011.

Source: Department for Transport - Reported drinking and driving: data tables

In 2021, approximately 6,740 people were injured or killed on roads where a driver or rider was over the alcohol limit.

• The number of people injured or killed on roads where a drive or rider was over the alcohol limit decreased from 9,930 to 6,740 between 2011 and 2021.
• There were 4,660 drink drive collisions which declined from 6,690 in 2011. 
• 260 people died in drink drive collisions which increased from 240 in 2011.

Source: Department for Transport - Reported drinking and driving: data tables