Alcohol a 'bigger problem than drugs' in Devon

The county is an outlier

Alcohol poses a larger health threat to people in Devon than drugs, with the county an outlier in hospital admissions of those with drink-related problems, an influential committee has heard.

Issues with alcohol can often be more hidden, members of Devon’s health and adult care scrutiny committee heard, and deaths from it are seldom as publicised compared to the likes of drug overdoses.

Steve Brown, director of public health and communities at Devon County Council, told the committee that Devon was an outlier in terms of hospital admissions for alcohol-related problems, and that if the county had more public health funding, he would advocate spending more in this area.

“I would look at scaling up support not just for people that are alcohol dependent but who are drinking at excessive levels,” he said.

Mr Brown added that he made “no secret” of his family’s tragic experiences linked to alcohol.

“My sister died last year from alcohol so I know how it impacts families,” he said.

“We’re not seeing the likes of minimum pricing here – a policy adopted in Scotland – but I suspect alcohol could be one of the next key things the government needs to pay attention to.

“There is no safe drinking level, and any amount is unsafe as it impacts on your ability to do various things, including work, and on traffic collisions.”

Mr Brown said that worryingly, Devon was an outlier in the numbers of under-18s getting admitted to hospital for alcohol-related problems.

“I’m passionate about this issue and I am hopeful that the government strategy in the spring recognises the impact of alcohol on health, on care and on the workforce, but also on communities.”

Councillor Pru Maskell (Conservative, Braunton Rural) said a member of her family had struggled with alcohol too, but had received support to recover.

“We are all aware that alcohol is a much bigger problem, and often hidden,” she said.

The government published an alcohol strategy in 2012, pledging to crackdown on ‘binge drinking’, alcohol-fuelled violence and disorder, and the number of people drinking to damaging levels.

The Office for National Statistics shows that there were 10,048 alcohol-specific deaths in the UK in 2022, the latest data available. That is the highest number ever recorded, up almost a third (32.8 per cent) from 2019.

That is equivalent to 14.9 per 100,000 people in 2022 versus 11.8 in 2019.

Meanwhile a government report from March 2023 said alcohol-related hospital admissions hit 342,795 in 2021/22, with women accounting for double the admission than men.

In terms of deaths from drugs, England registered 8.1 per 100,000 people between 2020 and 2022, with Devon’s figure hitting 8.3 for the same period.

In terms of Devon’s districts, Exeter recorded the highest number at 13.3 deaths per 100,000 people, and Mid Devon the lowest, at 4.8.