Alcohol harm in England must be prioritised

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The government is not taking the impact of alcohol harm seriously enough, MPs say today.

A new report from the House of Commons Public Accounts, released today, explains that alcohol harm has risen sharply since the start of the covid pandemic, with an estimated ten million people in England regularly exceeding the Chief Medical Officers’ low-risk drinking guidelines.

Dame Meg Hillier MP and colleagues on the cross-party committee produced the report to outline the current rate of death, illness and costs to society of problem drinking.

It explains that mortality rose by 89% over the last two decades, and alcohol is linked to over 100 illnesses and 42% of violent crime. About 1.7 million people drink at 'higher risk' levels, and around 600,000 are dependent on alcohol.

Of this last group, 82% are not in treatment, despite evidence of a high success rate.

In terms of financial costs to the NHS and society, the committee believes that the estimate of £25 billion a year, based on 2012 figures, "may not reflect the full scale of harm".