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Publication, Part of

Statistics on Alcohol, England 2021

Official statistics, National statistics

Publication Date:
27 Jan 2022
Geographic Coverage:
England
Geographical Granularity:
Clinical Commissioning Groups, Ambulance Trusts, Clinical Commissioning Regions
Date Range:
01 Apr 2020 to 31 Mar 2021
National Statistics

Current Chapter

Statistics on Alcohol, England 2021

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Part 1: Alcohol-related hospital admissions

Statistics on Public Health

Please note that this publication has now been integrated into the new Statistics on Public Health publication that brings together:

  • Statistics on Alcohol,
  • Statistics on Drug Misuse,
  • Statistics on Obesity, Physical Activity and Diet,
  • Statistics on Smoking.

In its first iteration it presents the information previously published in these publications in the new format agreed as part of the consultation in early 2022.  The consultation outcomes document can be found below under Resources.

We value your opinions on this new look publication and would welcome your feedback.

We plan to publish updated hospital admissions, mortality and prescribing data for 2020/21 through to 2022/23 later in 2023 with the publication then being produced routinely in the autumn each year.

20 July 2023 09:30 AM

Page contents

Summary

This report presents newly published information on prescriptions items for drugs used to treat alcohol dependence and affordability of alcohol and expenditure on alcohol.

The report also provides commentary on hospital admissions for diseases, injuries and conditions that can be attributed to alcohol consumption. The data in this section comes from the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) Local Alcohol Profiles for England, which use data from NHS Digital’s Hospital Episode Statistics.

Additionally, the report provides links to information relating to alcohol use and misuse drawn from a variety of sources including alcohol-specific deaths; drinking behaviours among adults and children and road casualties involving illegal alcohol levels.

The publication includes this summary report showing key findings, excel tables, technical appendices and a data quality statement.

The publication of this report was delayed from October 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) requiring changes to NHS Digital’s statistical production schedule.

Key facts cover the latest year of data available:

  • Hospital admissions - 2019/20
  • Prescriptions - 2020/21

Key Facts

280 thousand estimated admissions to hospital in 2019/20 where the main reason was attributable to alcohol

2% higher than 2018/19 and 8% higher than 2016/17

More men than women were admitted where the main reason was attributable to alcohol

65% of the patients were male

167 thousand prescription items dispensed in 2020/21 to treat alcohol dependence

1% higher than 2019/20 but 15% lower than 2014/15

Last edited: 14 July 2023 11:00 am