Find out more about alcohol and its effect on life across the UK.

All information is taken from the Alcohol Change UK site in accordance with their research and statistics

How does alcohol affect our health?

Alcohol impacts our health and wellbeing in many different ways, from causing headaches, sleepless nights, and feeling “off” the next day, to an increased risk of more serious long-term health conditions like increased blood pressure, cholesterol and even types of cancer

Alcohol is sometimes used by people to try manage symptoms of anxiety and depression, but alcohol is likely to make those symptoms worse in the long run

Alcohol is a causal factor in more than 200 medical conditions, including high blood pressure, liver scarring, and cancers

According to Cancer Research UK, drinking alcohol causes 7 different types of cancer:

• Breast cancer and bowel cancer, two of the most common types

• Mouth cancer

• Some types of throat cancer: oesophagus (food pipe), larynx (voice box) and pharynx (upper throat)

• Liver cancer

Alcohol is the biggest risk factor for death, ill-health, and disability among 15-49 year-olds in the UK, and the fifth biggest risk factor across all ages (Burton et al., 2016)

How many people are hospitalised because of alcohol in the UK?

According to DHSC (2025), in England in 2023/24:

• There were 280,747 admissions where the primary diagnosis was an alcohol-related condition (504 per 100,000 people)

• There were 1,018,986 admissions where the primary or secondary diagnosis was an alcohol-related condition (1,824 per 100,000 people)

How many people in the UK are treated for alcohol use?

According to the Office for Health Improvement & Disparities (2025), in England 2024/25:

• There were 99,955 people in contact with services for alcohol treatment only

• 60,080 (60.1%) were male and 39,875 (39.9%) were female

• There were an additional 47,758 people in contact with services for non-opiate and alcohol treatment

• 34,066 (71.3%) were male and 13,692 (28.7%) were female