ONS data: UK alcohol-specific deaths fall for the first time since the Covid pandemic

Alcohol-specific deaths in the United Kingdom have fallen for the first time since 2019, according to Office for National Statistics (ONS) data. Deaths dropped 3.5 percent year-on-year in 2025, the BBC reported, in a fall that breaks the sharp upward trend that had taken hold since the Covid pandemic.

The ONS figures show 9,860 alcohol-specific deaths in the United Kingdom in 2025, against 10,220 in 2024, a fall of 360. By comparison, the pre-pandemic figure in 2019 was 7,560. The total therefore remains more than 30 percent above its level at the start of the pandemic.

The age-group breakdown shows the fall is uneven. ONS data shows a marked drop in the 50-64 age group, but a small rise in the over-65 cohort. The 25-49 age band has stayed at the highest level recorded since the pandemic began. That was described as "a concern" both by public health experts the BBC spoke to and by the ONS's analysis report.

The highest alcohol-specific death rates by region remained, as in recent years, in Scotland and the north of England. In Manchester, Liverpool and Glasgow, rates per 100,000 people are around 50 percent above the national average. In the south of England, rates remained at their established low levels.

In discussing the reasons for the fall, experts pointed to several factors. Professor Sir Ian Gilmore, chair of the Royal College of Psychiatrists' addictions faculty, told the BBC: "It reflects a combination of falling alcohol consumption among the young, the relative stabilisation of access to alcohol-dependence services, and the impact of pricing policies."

Scotland's minimum unit pricing (MUP) policy, in force since 2018, does not represent a fresh policy lever. But analysis published this year by Public Health Scotland found that MUP had reduced alcohol-related hospital admissions by an average of 13.5 percent a year. A similar model has been in place in Wales since 2020.

Investments in NHS addiction services may also have played a role. According to NHS England, the number of people accessing alcohol care services rose by 7 percent in 2024-25. That is the highest annual rise in five years. The NHS has, however, acknowledged that these services are still not evenly distributed across regions.

Dr Katherine Severi, director of the Alcohol Health Alliance UK, told the BBC the fall was "a welcome development but too early to celebrate." Severi recalled that drinking patterns after the pandemic had shifted toward more in-home consumption and noted that for those at risk of dependence, the long-term health impact of that pattern is still in play.

On the day the data was published, the Department of Health and Social Care announced a new public awareness campaign on alcohol consumption that will run during the summer months. The campaign targets the 16-24 age group and will be delivered across social media. The estimated budget is 4.2 million pounds.

Experts are cautious about how alcohol-specific deaths will trend in the coming years. The ONS analysis report says that sustaining the 2025 fall will require pricing policy, expanded treatment services and education campaigns to be pursued together. According to the BBC, those recommendations will appear in the Department of Health's annual report in the coming days.