The rise represents an overall increase of 33% compared with 2019 - the biggest jump since records began in 2001.
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00:00Figures from the Office for National Statistics show a huge uptick in the number of deaths
00:06from alcohol-related causes. 2,500 people died as a result of drinking in 2022 alone.
00:12It represents an overall increase of 33% compared with 2019, the biggest jump since records
00:18began in 2001. ONS health statistician David Mayes said research has suggested that people
00:24who were already drinking at high levels before the pandemic were the most likely to have
00:28increased their drinking during this period. Alcoholic liver disease was the leading cause
00:33of death among these figures and as in years past, rates are around double the rate for
00:38men. So what is being done about it? Scotland has some of the worst rates and so introduced
00:43a policy which saw a minimum price per unit for alcohol sold in shops to discourage lower
00:48income drinkers. The policy was first introduced at 50p per unit in 2018 but this has recently
00:54risen to 65p per unit. It's hoped it will further tackle deaths and hospital admission
00:59rates. What do you think of the policy and would you welcome its introduction into the
01:03rest of the UK?