HC Deb 17 January 1984 vol 71 cc216-7W
Mrs. Renée Short

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many premature deaths due to alcohol consumption or accidents associated with alcohol abuse have occurred in 1984; and how these figures compare with those in 1980 and in each year since 1980.

Mr. John Patten

The requested information is not available centrally but the hon. Member may find the information in the table helpful. Deaths from motor vehicle accidents are not shown in the table but it is estimated that about one road death in five (ie about 1,000 a year in England and Wales) occurs in accidents where at least one person had consumed alcohol over the legal limit.

England and Wales Number of deaths
Cause of death ICD* number 1980 1981† 1982 1983 1984‡
Diseases specifically associated with alcohol consumption:
Alcoholic psychosis 291 1 3 1 2 3
Alcohol dependence syndrome 303 111 98 87 99 54
Non-dependent abuse of alcohol 305.0 102 100 123 104 63
Chronic liver disease and cirrhosis, alcohol reported as cause 571.0
571.3 745 791 807 887 446
Chronic liver disease and cirrhosis, alcohol not specifically reported as caused║ 571.4
571.9 1,473 1,421 1,345 1,297 676
Accidental deaths with any mention of alcohol (excluding road traffic accidents) 415 260 391 387 N/A
* International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision.
† Industrial action by registration officers in 1981 meant that some of the information normally requested to aid coding by cause of death was unavailable. In addition information normally supplied by coroners was not available.
‡ First two quarters only.
║These deaths are included in the table as some of them are thought to be associated with excessive drinking.