Published 27 April 2009, doi:10.1136/bmj.b1713
Cite this as: BMJ 2009;338:b1713

News

Alcohol linked deaths three times higher than official figures, MPs hear

Adrian O’Dowd

1 London

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Deaths related to alcohol consumption in the United Kingdom are about three times higher than official figures indicate, MPs have been told.

The scale of the problem is underestimated, MPs on the parliamentary health select committee heard last week at the first evidence session of their inquiry into alcohol.

Ian Gilmore, president of the Royal College of Physicians, giving evidence, said that the problem was worse than the estimated 8700 deaths caused by alcohol consumption recorded by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

"The figures we hear are almost certainly significant underestimates. The 8700 figure is an ONS figure where alcohol is named on the death certificate as the cause of death. It doesn’t pick up the accidents and the violence [caused by alcohol]," said Professor Gilmore.

"If you include cases where alcohol is named on the death certificate as a contributory cause, the figures rise to about 15 000. . . . [Full text of this article]


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