Deaths from alcohol - ONS data

The Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown were an extremely challenging time for many. There's no doubt that a lack of human interaction and the sheer uncertainty caused by the pandemic led to the increase in deaths due to alcoholism in 2021. Many people felt alone, hopeless and scared and alcohol was sadly a way to escape. The looming recession and rising cost of living are also now contributing to a rise in deaths from alcohol. This is inevitable and only set to get worse. Drastic measures need to be put into place otherwise a perfect storm of mental health problems due to financial hardship and alcoholism will put people and their lives at risk.

The (mis)use of alcohol has long been a problem in the UK and as a GP I have seen the average age of long-term complications from unhealthy alcohol consumption decrease so much that we are seeing cases of end-stage liver failure and cirrhosis in people in their 40s rather than 70s. This problem has been exacerbated in the past 2 years by enforced lockdowns, isolation and loss of regular routines. When people are not required to go into the office, their routine is disrupted. They may not get dressed/shaved and bad habits that previously existed but were kept in check can worsen. I have encountered patients who used to drink a glass or two of wine after work starting their drinking earlier in the day and consuming more. Also, the closure of schools and the need for parents to home-school also exacerbated the problem.