Provisional data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows there were 5,460 deaths related to alcohol-specific causes registered in the first three quarters of 2020 in England and Wales. This is a 16.4% increase in alcohol-specific deaths in comparison with the same 9-month period in 2019, it marks the highest recorded alcohol-specific death rate since this data collection began in 2001.

AHA chair Professor Sir Ian Gilmore, said: ‘Although it will take time to understand the causes for this dramatic increase, the government must act quickly on the known drivers of the nation’s drinking to prevent future harm.’

Read the ONS release