Alcohol and substance abuse deaths soar, new official figures show, with experts blaming excessive boozing and drug taking triggered during lockdown READ MORE: Spike in deaths from bacterial infection mystifies experts in Japan By John Ely Deputy Health Editor For Mailonline Published: 12:32 EDT, 18 June 2024 | Updated: 12:34 EDT, 18 June 2024 e-mail 8 View comments Deaths from alcohol and drugs are soaring in England and Wales, official data suggests. Fatalities from substance abuse rose to almost 13,000 in England and in excess of 800 in Wales in 2022. Both figures represent significant rises compared to pre-pandemic figures, when the tally was 10,511 and 667 respectively.
Experts have blamed excess boozing during the Covid pandemic as well as increasing opiate abuse — including heroin and prescription drugs — for blighting the lives of Britons. The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics ( ONS ) show that overall one in five deaths in England and Wales were considered avoidable in 2022, the most recent year where complete records are available. Fatalities from substance abuse have continued to soar compared to pre-pandemic with 25.
9 deaths per 100,000 in England in 2022, and 30.2 per 100,000 in Wales (stock image) This Office for National Statistics chart shows how avoidable deaths have decreased in 2022 compared to the previous year but are still higher then pre-pandemic Cancer remains England and Wales's biggest avoidable cause of death, but it still o.