Alcohol Consumption Among Adults

This topic area covers statistics and information relating to alcohol consumption among adults in Hull including local strategic need and service provision. Further information relating to Alcohol Consumption Among Young People is given under Lifestyle Factors within Children and Young People. Information relating to the frequency and quantity of alcohol consumption has been collected within Hull’s Health and Wellbeing Surveys and full reports are available under Surveys within Tools and Resources. A needs assessment was completed in Hull during 2023 for people with multiple unmet needs which included people who drank alcohol excessively. The report – which was finalised in 2024 – is available within Multiple Unmet Needs under Vulnerable Groups.

This page contains information from the Office for Health Improvement & Disparities’ Fingertips. Information is taken ‘live’ from the site so uses the latest available data from Fingertips and displays it on this page. As a result, some comments on this page may relate to an earlier period of time until this page is next updated (see review dates at the end of this page).

Headlines

• As well as alcoholic liver disease, alcohol consumption is a causal factor in 60 types of diseases and injuries, as well as a component cause in 200 others. As well as individual health risks, excessive alcohol consumption has significant effects on family, the community and the economy. Around 40% of all violent crimes are alcohol-related.
• The cost to society across England and Wales was estimated to be £21 billion in 2013/14 which covered external costs (treatment, crime, labour market, etc), and another estimate for 2006/07 was £55 billion which also included private costs to the individual such spending on alcohol, lawyer’s fees, human value costs from pain and grief associated with illness, disability and death. More recent estimates of the cost of alcohol on society are not available.
• For 2021/22, Hull has 770 premises licenced to sell alcohol which equates to 10.8 premises per square kilometre which is much higher than any other local authority in the region due to Hull being a city with tight geographical boundaries. The range across upper-tier local authorities in England ranges from 0.3 to 91.9 premises licenced to sell alcohol per square kilometre (Blackpool has the highest density outside London at 34.0 premises per square kilometre) so the density in Hull is not among the highest in the country (ranked 26th highest out of the 132 upper-tier local authorities with data). Furthermore, Hull has a high density of pubs, bars and nightclubs particularly around the city centre with all residents living within an eight minute drive of the nearest pub, bar or nightclub (almost all are within a three or four minute drive away).
• In Hull, whilst more young people and adults are never drinking alcohol, and the majority of those who are drinking are drinking less alcohol, there are harmful levels of alcohol consumption across Hull resulting in high levels of health-related harm and hospital admissions.
• From the local Health and Wellbeing Survey 2019, 22% never drank alcohol and 34% usually drank alcohol at least once a week. Overall, 32% displayed harmful drinking behaviour by drinking more than 14 units in a week, usually binge drinking weekly and/or having a high Fast Alcohol Screening Test score.
• Around 40% or more of men aged 16-74 years and 36% of women aged 16-24 years displayed harmful alcohol behaviours as did 38% of people who worked, 34% of students and 37% of people living in the least deprived fifth of areas of Hull.
• The rate of hospital admissions for alcohol-specific conditions / conditions wholly attributable to alcohol such as alcoholic liver disease and alcohol poisoning was 42% higher in Hull compared to England for 2022/23. Over the year, there were 2,029 admissions in total although some people could have been admitted more than once during the financial year and thus included more than once. Whilst the rate has increased between 2019/20 and 2022/23 from 783 to 825 admissions per 100,oo0 population, the latest rate in Hull is lower than it was in 2016/17 when there were 857 alcohol-specific admissions per 100,oo0 population. Seven in ten (1,416 admissions in total) were among men. However, among under 18s, there was little difference between males and females, and in Hull (and all other local authorities in the region), the hospital admission rates for alcohol-specific conditions were higher among females compared to males (17.3 versus 16.4 admissions per 100,oo0 population in Hull). However, the numbers were small with around ten admissions on average each year.
• There are also two other measures of the impact of alcohol on hospital admissions, both of which are modelled using Alcohol Attributable Fractions (AAF). AAF values are applied to each admission depending on the primary and secondary diagnosis codes assigned to the admission as well as the gender and age of the person being admitted. For instance, the AAF for epilepsy for males aged 25-34 years is 0.25 denoting that 25% of admissions are attributable to alcohol. Both use the maximum AAF value over all diagnosis codes, and the total AAF values are summed over all admissions within a period of time (most admissions will have an AAF value of zero). The narrow measure is the most frequently used and uses the maximum AAF value for the primary diagnosis (main reason for admission) and all secondary external causes (such as traffic accidents, falls, self-harm, etc). The broad measure uses the maximum AAF values over the primary diagnosis and all secondary diagnoses. During 2022/23, the alcohol-related admission rate (narrow measure) in Hull was 625 admissions per 100,000 population (896 for men and 370 for women). The rate was statistically significantly higher than England and among the highest in the region. In the last two years between 2020/21 and 2022/23, the rate among Hull men has decreased but among women it has increased. It was estimated that during 2022/23, there were 1,509 alcohol-related admissions in total (based on the narrow definition) in Hull (1,059 among men and 449 among women). The alcohol-related admission rate (broad measure) was also statistically significantly higher in Hull compared to England for 2022/23 and among the highest in the region at 2,135 admissions per 100,000 population (3,239 for men and 1,126 for women) with an estimated total number of 5,052 alcohol-related admissions in total (based on the broad definition) in Hull (3,629 among men and 1,370 among women) for 2022/23.
• During 2022, there were 49 deaths that were alcohol-specific or wholly attributable to alcohol among Hull residents giving a rate of 20.3 deaths per 100,000 population. The alcohol-specific mortality rate in Hull for 2022 is statistically significantly higher than England (40% higher) and among the highest across the Yorkshire and Humber region. The alcohol-specific mortality rate in Hull has increased from 11.4 deaths per 100,000 population in 2018 to 20.3 deaths per 100,000 population in 2022.
• To estimate alcohol-related mortality, the AAF values have also been assigned to the causes of death (in most cases the AAF values are the same for each cause, gender and age group for diseases and medical conditions, but are generally the AAF value is higher for a death compared to an admission for external causes). The alcohol-related mortality rate is statistically significantly higher for men in Hull compared to England, and whilst it is also higher for Hull women the difference between Hull and England for 2022 is not statistically significant. During 2022, it is estimated that there were 128 deaths (94 men and 33 women) that were alcohol-related. The alcohol-related mortality in Hull has been increasing since 2018 for both men and women from 41.7 to 54.3 deaths per 100,000 population (men and women combined). The rate in England has increased but at a much slower rate so the inequalities gap between Hull and England has increased.
• The potential years of life that were lost due to alcohol-related mortality in 2022 were 61% higher among men in Hull, and 27% higher among women in Hull, than England.

The Population Affected – Why Is It Important?

The following video from The Office for Health Improvement & Disparities (previously Public Health England) explains how ill health from both alcohol and tobacco can be prevented.

https://youtu.be/dEVguE2yOj4

Alcohol consumption is the world’s third largest risk factor for disease and disability. Alcohol is a causal factor in 60 types of diseases and injuries, and a component cause in 200 others. Liver problems, reduced fertility, high blood pressure, increased risk of various cancers and heart attack are some of the numerous harmful effects of regularly drinking more than the recommended levels. Excessive alcohol consumption can also lead to fatigue, depression, weight gain, poor sleep and sexual problems.

Modelled estimates suggest that there were almost one-quarter of a million admissions attributable to alcohol that occurred in England during 2020/21.

No recent estimates of the cost of alcohol on society exist, but costs have been estimated previously and they are substantial. In 2013/14, the total annual cost to society of alcohol-related harm was estimated to be around £21 billion (£3.5 billion for NHS, £11 billion due to crime and £7 billion to the economy in terms of lost productivity). There are also significant effects on families and communities, with an increased risk of vandalism, violent crime, domestic abuse, road casualties and sickness absence from work. It is estimated that around 40% of all violent crimes are alcohol-related. The Office for Health Improvement & Disparities (previously Public Health England) cite a range between £27 billion and £52 billion from a study by Rehm et al which is based on external costs of alcohol from different studies in different countries and is based on the range of 1.4% and 2.7% of national income (applied to the UK national income in 2016). The National Society Marketing Centre estimated that the total societal cost of alcohol in England in 2006-07 was £55 billion and their estimate included the external costs above (treatment, crime, labour market, etc) as well as the costs to individuals including the cost of purchasing the alcohol and human value costs such as pain and grief associated with illness, disability and death.

It is recommended that men and women do not exceed 14 units of alcohol per week, and that people who do drink up to this level spread their drinking out over the week and have several alcohol-free days. These guidelines were updated in January 2016, and the fundamental change to the recommendations was that there is no safe level of drinking alcohol.

A local Health and Wellbeing Survey was conducted in 2019 involving over 4,000 adults (aged 16+ years) in Hull. The survey asked a number of questions relating to alcohol consumption and the results are presented below. Further information relating to the definitions used in this local survey in relation to alcohol consumption and alcohol harm can be found within the Glossary. The percentages differ slightly for the different analyses relating to alcohol as there were a number of questions enquiring about alcohol consumption, and not everybody answered every question so the total number of individuals differ slightly for the different analyses.

The Hull Picture

Density of Premises Licenced to Sell Alcohol

As Hull is a city with tightly defined geographical boundaries (compared to many other cities) and as a result it has a high density of premises licenced to sell alcohol compared to all other local authorities in the region. However, across England the density ranges from 0.3 to 91.9 premises per square kilometre or from 0.3 to 34.0 premises per square kilometre once some of the highest figures for London local authorities are excluded. Blackpool has 34.0 premises licenced to sell alcohol per square kilometre which is the highest density outside London. Therefore in relation to other cities beyond the Yorkshire and Humber region, the density in Hull is not as high. Hull is ranked 26th highest (out of the 132 upper-tier local authorities in England with data).

The figures relate to the number of premises licenced to sell alcohol per square kilometre.

This is even more evident when displayed graphically for the region.

The number of premises licenced to sell alcohol has remained around 10 premises per square kilometre, although the figure for 2021/22 is slightly higher than this at 10.8 premises per square kilometre. For 2021/22, there were a total of 770 premises in Hull licenced to sell alcohol.

The Access to Healthy Assets and Hazards which includes drive times to nearest pub, bar or nightclub was updated in 2024.

The Access to Healthy Assets and Hazards (AHAH) index is designed to allow policy and decision makers to understand which areas have poor environments for health, and to help move away from treating features of the environment in isolation.

The Access to Healthy Assets and Hazards index is comprised of four domains: access to retail services (fast food outlets, gambling outlets, pubs/bars/nightclubs, off licences, tobacconists), access to health services (GP surgeries, A&E hospitals, pharmacies, dentists and leisure centres), the physical environment (green and blue spaces) and levels of air pollution (nitrogen dioxide (NO2), particulate matter smaller than 10 microns (PM₁₀) and sulphur dioxide (SO₂)).

In 2024, the Access to Healthy Assets and Hazards Index is very high in Hull with 44.7% of Hull’s population residing in the bottom fifth of areas nationally in relation to the Access to Healthy Assets and Hazards Index. The percentage nationally is 20.9% and across the other 14 lower tier local authorities in the region the range is from 1.3% to 32.6%.

Despite the very high levels in Hull, the index has decreased considerably since 2016 when nine in ten residents lived in the worst fifth of areas of England in relation to the index, although there was a large decrease between 2016 and 2017 to 46% with only relatively minor changes to 2022 and 2023.

In 2024, it is estimated that 120,220 residents in Hull live within areas defined as the bottom fifth of areas nationally based on the Access to Healthy Assets and Hazards Index.

Information relating to version 4 of the Access to Healthy Assets and Hazards index is available at lower layer super output area geographical level. There are 33,755 lower layer super output areas in England, and the percentile score has been calculated for each of the 168 lower layer super output areas in Hull. The index was updated in July 2024, and information on the individual components is available.

The drive times to the nearest pub, bar or nightclub are low in Hull. Whilst not everyone in a city will have access to a car or van (35% of households in Hull compared to 23% of households in England), the map does illustrate the density of pubs, bars and nightclubs in Hull, and many people will likely be a relatively short walk away from their nearest pub, bar or nightclub. If this is combined with the density of premises licenced to sell alcohol, access to alcohol is readily available throughout Hull.

Information on the other indicators is available under Geographical Area under Place.

Never Drinks Alcohol

From the local Health and Wellbeing Survey 2019, 22% of residents aged 16+ years in Hull never drink alcohol. Women, people aged 75+ years and people living in the most deprived areas of Hull were the most likely to never drink alcohol. It is estimated that 208,867 people aged 16+ years live in Hull, and it is estimated that around 45,450 of them never drink alcohol. More people in Hull never drink alcohol compared to England (22% versus 18%) and also drink alcohol less frequently (34% versus 49% drinking weekly).

Drinks Weekly

Half of men aged 45-74 years, and more than four in ten men aged 35-44 years and people living in the least deprived two-fifths of areas of Hull drink alcohol at least once a week. Across all of Hull, it is estimated that 7,050 people drink alcohol every day, 10,650 drink alcohol 4-6 days a week, 54,050 drink alcohol 1-3 days a week and 46,200 drink alcohol 1-3 days a month and 45,450 drinking alcohol less than once a month. People in Hull drink alcohol less frequently than those in England with 58% of men and 41% of women in England drinking alcohol weekly compared to 42% of men and 27% of women in Hull.

Harmful Drinking Behaviour

Overall, 31.7% of all adults in Hull display harmful drinking behaviour, although there are considerable differences by gender, age, employment status and deprivation. Harmful drinking behaviour was defined as drinking more than 14 units the previous week, usually binge drinking at least once a week and/or having a high Fast Alcohol Screening Test (FAST) score (sum of scores based on frequency of binge drinking, failing to do what was normally expected because of drinking and been unable to remember what happened the night before because of drinking, as well as having a friend, relative, doctor or health professional being concerned about drinking or suggesting the person cuts down). Further information relating to the definitions used in the survey is given in the Glossary.

More than one-third of men aged 16-74 years and women aged 16-24 years exhibited harmful alcohol behaviours. Across all of Hull, it is estimated that 66,250 adults aged 16+ years have harmful alcohol behaviours.

It was also possible to examine the different types of harmful behaviour in more detail (percentages might differ slightly from those quoted above as some people did not answer all the questions so the number of survey responders included differ slightly). Overall, 23% never drank alcohol, 27% had not exceeded the 14 units the previous week, did not binge drink weekly and had a low FAST score (<3), 4.8% had not exceeded the 14 units the previous week and did not binge drink weekly but had a high FAST score (3+), 4.9% had not exceeded the 14 units the previous week, but did binge drink weekly and also had a high FAST score, 4.9% had exceeded 14 units in the previous week but did not usual binge drink weekly and also had a low FAST score, 2.9% had exceeded 14 units in the previous week, did not usually binge drink weekly but had a high FAST score, and 13.2% had exceeded the 14 units the previous week, did binge drink weekly and had a high FAST score.

However, the pattern of these behaviours did differ slightly among the different groups of individuals. The most common harmful behaviour was generally having all three harmful alcohol behaviours, although for young people aged 16-24 years and students, they were more likely to just have a high FAST score. Overall, 16.0% of all those with harmful alcohol behaviours had a high FAST score only (13.2% out of 30.2%) so not exceeding the weekly units or regularly binge drinking, but this was 25.2% and 45.9% for men and women respectively aged 16-24 years, and 38.9% for students. Thus if the survey had just examined weekly consumption of alcohol and regular binge drinking, these young people would not have been classified as having harmful alcohol behaviours yet they would have achieved a threshold of further investigation if they had completed the Fast Alcohol Screening Test in an emergency setting.

Modelled Admissions and Deaths Attributable to Alcohol

The Office for Health Improvement & Disparities’ Local Alcohol Profiles provide information on a number of indicators relating to alcohol. The estimated number of admissions due to alcohol are given based on modelled estimates using Alcohol Attributable Fractions (AAFs).

Much more detailed information on AAFs, including examples, is given within the Glossary. However, in brief, each admission or death is assigned a primary diagnosis code and sometimes secondary diagnosis code(s) too based on the International Classification of Diseases (ICD). The secondary codes can relate to other diseases or medical conditions which are influential or affect treatment, but also can relate to an external cause such as a traffic accident, fall or injury. Each ICD diagnosis code has been assigned an AAF value of between 0 and 1 through vigorous research. The AAF is assigned a value of zero for ICD diagnoses codes where there is no evidence that alcohol is an influencing factor, one for wholly attributable conditions such as alcoholic liver disease, alcohol dependence or alcohol poisoning, and a value between these for other conditions where alcohol is a factor. For instance, the AAF would be 0.16 if it is evidenced that 16% of the time alcohol is a cause of that disease or medical condition, or alcohol is a factor 16% of the time for that external cause. Different AAF values are assigned on the basis of the gender and age group of the individual admitted to hospital or who has died (see Alcohol Attributable Fractions for more information). In most cases, the AAF values assigned to a hospital admission and a death are the same for the same ICD code, gender and age group, but in some cases they do differ particularly the external causes. In the case of external causes, the AAF value is generally higher for deaths than it is for admissions and around twice as high for deaths.

See Alcohol Specific Admissions and Deaths for the full list of diseases and conditions that fall under the alcohol-specific or wholly attributable to alcohol definition used by the Office for Health Improvement & Disparities.

The Office for Health Improvement & Disparities use three main types of alcohol admission rates within their Local Alcohol Profiles: alcohol-specific, their narrow measure, and their broad measure. The former two are the most commonly used.

• The alcohol-specific measures only includes admissions where any of the primary or secondary diagnoses codes are entirely due to alcohol, that is, a condition wholly attributable to alcohol (AAF has the value of one).
• The narrow definition of alcohol admissions considers all primary diagnoses codes and all secondary external diagnoses codes (such as those relating to traffic accidents, injuries and falls).
• The broad definition of alcohol admissions considers all primary and secondary diagnosis codes (so the same as the narrow measure but additionally any other diseases and medical conditions recorded under secondary diagnosis codes).

For each admission, the maximum AAF is calculated over all the diagnoses codes considered for that measure (in many cases the maximum AAF for a single admission will be zero). These AAFs are then summed over all admissions over a specified period to give an estimate of the total number of alcohol-related or alcohol-specific admissions for that specific period. It is then possible to divide this by the population to produce a rate. However, in most cases, the admission and mortality rates are given as directly standardised rates per 100,000 population standardised to the European Standard Population (see Directly Standardised Rates for more information about standardisation).

The rates are generally give as the number of admissions within a financial year, and it is possible that some of the same people were admitted more than once during the year.

Modelled Admissions Attributable to Alcohol

Alcohol-Specific Admissions / Admissions Wholly Attributable to Alcohol

The alcohol-specific number of admissions for Hull is high in 2022/23, being 42% higher than England. The rates in Hull are among the third highest for men and highest for women across the Yorkshire and Humber region.

During the year 2022/23, there were 2,029 admissions to hospital for alcohol-specific conditions.

The rate of admissions in Hull for conditions wholly attributable to alcohol has remained relatively constant between 2016/17 and 2022/23 with generally just over 800 admissions per 100,000 population, although the rate did decrease slightly between 2016/17 and 2019/20 from 857 to 783 admissions per 100,000 population before increasing again to 825 admissions per 100,000 population for 2022/23.

For men, there was a similar pattern with the admission rate ranging from 1,074 to 1,199 admissions per 100,000 population so a relatively narrow range. The rate was highest in 2016/17 at 1,199 admissions per 100,000 population before decreasing to a low of 1,074 admissions per 100,000 population in 2019/20 followed by an increase to 1,154 admissions per 100,000 population for 2022/23.

For men during the year 2022/23, there were 1,416 admissions to hospital for alcohol-specific conditions.

The pattern differed slightly for women in Hull although there was also a relatively narrow range in the number of admissions which ranged from 495 to 546 admissions per 100,000 population. The rate increased between 2016/17 and 2018/19 from 520 to 532 admissions per 100,000 population followed by a decrease in 2019/20 to 495 admissions per 100,000 population, and whilst there was an increase to a high of 546 admissions per 100,000 population in 2020/21, the rate has since decreased to 497 admissions per 100,000 population for 2022/23.

For women during the year 2022/23, there were 613 admissions to hospital for alcohol-specific conditions.

Fingertips also gives the admission rate for alcohol-specific conditions among the under 18s. The rates are not age-standardised but are given as the estimated number of alcohol-related admissions per 100,000 population. Further information relating to Alcohol Consumption Among Young People is given under Lifestyle Factors within Children and Young People.

The admission rate for alcohol-specific conditions among the under 18s for both males and females in Hull for the three year period 2020/21 to 2022/23 is lower than England.

For adults, the admission rates for alcohol-specific conditions are significantly higher for men compared to women generally around twice as high among men. However, the pattern is the reverse for under 18s with more women admitted to hospital for alcohol-specific conditions. This is not unique to Hull as the admission rates are higher among women compared to men for all local authorities across the region for 2020/21-2022/23, although for Hull the difference in the admission rates for men and women is small compared to some local authorities within the region.

For males and females, the rate in Hull was high in 2006/07-2008/09 and was significantly higher than England, but the admission rate fell quite dramatically between 2006/07-2008/09 and 2013/14-2015/16. The fall in Hull was at a faster rate than England thus decreasing the inequalities gap. Indeed, in 2013/14-2015/16, the alcohol-specific rate in Hull was slightly lower than the rate in England. Since then, the rate in Hull increased for three years to a peak of 60.6 admissions per 100,000 population (89% higher than England) and increased by 70% over a three year period. The rate in Hull was statistically significantly higher than England for the four year period 2015/16-2017/18 to 2018/19-2020/21. However, since that peak, the rate in Hull has fallen sharply such that the rate for 2019/20-2021/22 was similar to England and the latest rate for 2020/21-2022/23 is 33% lower than England. The rate for the latest three year period 2020/21-2022/23 is one-third what it was at its peak in 2016/17-2018/19.

Over the three year period, there were approximately 35 alcohol-specific admissions in Hull so an average of just over 11 per year (numbers rounded to nearest five).

The pattern among men follows a similar pattern to that observed for males and females combined, although the increase between 2013/14-2015/16 and the peak in 2016/17-2018/19 was greater increasing by 94% (almost doubling). The decrease over the last four years has also been greater with the rate for the most recent three year period 2020/21-2022/23 being one-quarter what it was at its peak in 2016/17-2018/19.

For males aged under 18 years over the three year period, there were approximately 15 alcohol-specific admissions in Hull so an average of around five per year (numbers rounded to nearest five).

Whilst the pattern for females followed a similar pattern with an increase between 2013/14-2015/16 and 2016/17-2018/19 the increase was slightly smaller than for males (75% increase) and the subsequent decrease was also – whilst dramatic – was smaller than the decrease observed for males with the rate for women falling to one-third in 2020/21-2022/23 to what it was for 2016/17-2018/19. Furthermore, among men the admission rate was statistically significantly higher than England for four of the periods whereas for women the admission rate was statistically significantly higher than England for only one period.

For females aged under 18 years over the three year period, there were approximately 15 alcohol-specific admissions in Hull so an average of around five per year (numbers rounded to nearest five).

Alcohol-Related Admissions (Narrow Measure)

Hull has a much higher rate of alcohol-related admissions using the narrow measure compared to England (32% higher for 2022/23). The rates in Hull are the second highest across Yorkshire and Humber for men, and the sixth highest for women.

In Hull, there were 625 alcohol-related admissions (using the narrow measure) during 2022/23 per 100,000 population (896 for men and 370 for women per 100,000 population).

Using this modelling and the narrow measure, there were an estimated 1,509 alcohol-related admissions for alcohol in Hull in 2022/23 (1,059 for men and 449 for women).

For men and women combined, the modelled admission rate is lower for the last three years 2020/21 to 2022/23 compared to the 2016/17 to 2018/19, but the rate is consistently statistically significantly higher than the England average.

Among men, whilst the latest rate for 2022/23 is higher than the peak between 2016/17 and 2022/23 at 962 admissions per 100,000 population (which occurred in 2017/18), the rate has increased in the last two years. It is likely that the relatively low level of admissions for Hull for 2020/21 is associated with the COVID-19 pandemic as there were fewer hospital admissions in general during 2020/21, although the rate for 2019/20 and 2021/22 is also relatively low. The lockdowns for the pandemic commenced at the end of March 2020 so it is not expected that the rate for 2019/20 will be affected very much by the pandemic.

Among women, the modelled admission rate for alcohol-related conditions for 2022/23 is the lowest it has been between the period 2016/17 to 2022/23 at 370 admissions per 100,000 population. Nevertheless, the rate in Hull is still statistically significantly higher than England for all seven financial years.

Alcohol-Related Admissions (Broad Measure)

Using the broad measure for hospital admissions, the rate in Hull is also much higher than England, and among the highest across Yorkshire and Humber for 2022/23.

For men and women combined, the broad alcohol-related measure of hospital admissions decreased between 2016/17 and 2019/20 from 2,335 to 2,096 admissions per 100,000 population. There was a further decrease in 2020/21 to a low of 1,826 admissions per 100,000 population although it is likely that this is associated with a lower rate of hospital admissions for all conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic. The rate in Hull has increased to 2,135 admissions per 100,000 population in 2022/23.

Throughout the entire period 2016/17 to 2022/23, the admission rate for alcohol-related conditions (broad measure) has been statistically significantly higher than England.

There were an estimated 5,052 admissions in Hull that were alcohol-related based on this broad measure during 2022/23, although it is possible that the broader measure over-estimates the impact of alcohol on admissions.

For men in Hull, the broad alcohol-related measure of hospital admissions decreased between 2016/17 and 2019/20 from 3,889 to 3,008 admissions per 100,000 population before increasing to 3,239 admissions per 100,000 population.

Among Hull men, there were an estimated 3,681 admissions in Hull that were alcohol-related based on this broad measure during 2022/23.

A reasonably similar pattern occurred for women although both the decrease between 2016/17 and 2020/21 and the increase between 2020/21 and 2022/23 was smaller than it was for Hull males.

For women in Hull, the broad alcohol-related measure of hospital admissions decreased between 2016/17 and 2019/20 from 1,205 to 1,059 admissions per 100,000 population before increasing to 1,126 admissions per 100,000 population.

Among Hull women, there were an estimated 1,370 admissions in Hull that were alcohol-related based on this broad measure during 2022/23.

Modelled Deaths Attributable to Alcohol

Fingertips also provides information on alcohol-specific and alcohol-related mortality using the Alcohol Attributable Fractions.

The alcohol-specific mortality counts all deaths where the underlying cause or any of the secondary causes of death are a wholly alcohol attributable condition such as alcoholic myopathy, alcoholic cardiomyopathy, alcoholic liver disease, alcohol-induced chronic pancreatitis, ethanol poisoning, etc. A full list of conditions is given under Alcohol Specific Admissions and Deaths.

The alcohol-related mortality counts all the alcohol-specific deaths but also sums the AAF values for all the other deaths based on the diagnosis code related to the underlying cause of death. Further information relating to the definition of alcohol-related mortality can be found under Alcohol Attributable Fractions.

These mortality rates are also age-standardised and presented as the estimated number of alcohol-specific or alcohol-related deaths per 100,000 population (see Directly Standardised Rates for more information about standardisation).

Alcohol-Specific Deaths / Deaths Wholly Attributable to Alcohol

The alcohol-specific mortality rate in Hull during 2022 was 40% higher than England and statistically significantly higher.

The alcohol-specific mortality rate has been quite variable in Hull between 2006 and 2018, but since 2018, there has been a consistent increasing trend in the mortality rate with the rate almost doubling from 11.4 to 20.3 deaths per 100,000 population between 2018 and 2022.

Between 2018 and 2022, the mortality rate across England and the region has also showed an increase albeit at a lower rate of increase.

There were 49 deaths among Hull residents in 2022 due to alcohol-specific conditions.

Alcohol-Related Deaths

For 2022, the alcohol-related mortality rate in Hull was higher than England and statistically significantly higher in Hull compared to England for men. The rate in Hull was the highest across the region for men, and the third highest for women in 2022.

The alcohol-related mortality rate increased between 2016 to 2017 from 46.1 to 50.7 deaths per 100,000 population before decreasing to a low of 41.7 deaths per 100,000 population in 2018. However, since 2018 the rate in Hull has shown a consistent and relatively sharp increase in the alcohol-related mortality rate increasing by 30% over the four year period to reach a high or 54.3 deaths per 100,000 population in 2022.

In 2022, there were an estimated 128 deaths among Hull men and women that were related to alcohol.

In 2022, there were an estimated 94 deaths among Hull men that were related to alcohol.

In 2022, there were an estimated 33 deaths among Hull women that were related to alcohol.

Potential Years of Life Lost Due to Alcohol-Related Conditions

The potential years of life lost (see Glossary for more information on this measure) is also available on Fingertips for males and females separately. Briefly, the potential years of life lost measures the potential number of years lost when a person dies prematurely, with more weight given to deaths at younger ages than older ages. These ‘lost years’ are then added up and standardised to provide the potential years of life lost measure.

Fingertips uses the number of age-specific alcohol-related deaths multiplied by the national life expectancy for each age group to calculate the potential years of life lost which are then summed to give the total potential years of life lost due to alcohol-related conditions. For instance, male and female life expectancy at birth for England for 2022 were 79.3 and 83.2 years respectively. If a man and a women died of an alcohol-related condition at age 55 years then their years of life lost would be 24.3 years and 28.2 years respectively. Each early death from alcohol-related conditions for the geographical area would be summed to give a total for the year.

For alcohol-related conditions the potential years of life lost in Hull in 2022 was significantly higher than for England for men (61% higher) but not significantly higher for women (27% higher), and was the highest across Yorkshire and Humber for men.

The years of life lost due to alcohol-specific conditions among Hull men was significantly higher than England for six of the past seven years, the exception being 2018 when it was non-significantly higher in Hull. The potential years of life lost has also increased consistently in Hull between 2018 and 2022.

It is estimated that there were 2,433 potential years of life lost among Hull men during 2022 for alcohol-related conditions.

The potential years of life lost for alcohol-specific conditions for women has been consistently higher in Hull compared to England and the region, but not statistically significantly so with the exception of 2016.

The potential years of life lost for alcohol-specific conditions has also shown an increase in the last three years with the years of life lost in 2022 second highest over the period with only the first year of 2016 higher.

It is estimated that there were 803 potential years of life lost among Hull women during 2022 for alcohol-related conditions.

Projected Number of Residents at Risk of Alcohol-Related Problems

The Projecting Adult Needs and Service Information (PANSI) provides current estimates and future projections at local authority level of the number of people predicted to be at a higher risk of alcohol-related problems. The prevalence for different age groups and for males and females estimated from different surveys and research has been applied to current population estimates and population projections to provide estimates for each local authority.

The estimates do not take into account deprivation, and due to Hull’s high levels of deprivation, it is likely that the figures will underestimate the numbers in Hull.

Age	2020	2025	2030	2035	2040
18-24	983	987	1,106	1,120	1,043
25-34	1,202	1,133	1,060	1,101	1,181
35-44	1,156	1,255	1,291	1,230	1,146
45-54	1,804	1,612	1,579	1,714	1,773
55-64	1,770	1,790	1,663	1,495	1,464
All 18-64	6,915	6,777	6,700	6,659	6,607

Qualitative Research in Hull

Local qualitative work revealed lack of understanding over what constituted binge drinking among women “Binge drinking is when you open a second bottle”, but particularly among men “Binge drinking is an all day session” and “Drinking all day and night and not going home”. There was also a general lack of understanding of alcohol units “I find the words unit very confusing”. Government guidelines were seen as ‘made up’, and most agreed that they did not understand them:  “I haven’t got a clue”, although some did have an understanding.

Impact of COVID-19 on Alcohol Consumption

From the Office for Health Improvement & Disparities Wider Impact of COVID-19 on Health Monitoring Tool, the percentage of adults aged 18+ years who drank alcohol more than 14 units during a typical week increased during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to consumption before the first lockdown in March 2020 in England. The volume of alcohol sales also increased in Great Britain over the course of the pandemic.

Strategic Need and Service Provision

Hull’s Alcohol and Drugs Partnership Strategy 2022-25 provides key priorities and recommendations for preventing alcohol related harm. The Strategy has six priorities:

1. Developing a Prevention and Early Intervention approach across the partnership;
2. Implement a more targeted approach to support at-risk groups;
3. Improving services to effectively support young people and adults with co-existing mental illness and substance use, and/or with multiple and complex needs;
4. Tackling alcohol/drug related stigma to ensure people have equitable access to services and resources.;
5. Developing community assets to achieve and sustain recovery; and
6. Reducing the risks associated with alcohol/drug use by utilising a harm reduction approach.

The Strategy has been co-produced with partners and relevant stakeholders to ensure local integration and shared accountability. Its primary focus is preventing and reducing the harm that alcohol use has on children, young people and adults; however, it is well integrated with other strategies and local plans.

Further information is available in the Hull Alcohol and Drugs Partnership Strategy.

It is recognised that more work needs to be done around increasing local awareness and understanding of alcohol and drug related harm, reducing acceptability of harmful drinking, managing availability of alcohol, and commissioning services responsive to the needs of groups with multiple disadvantages.

Social return on investment tools for drugs and alcohol make the case of investing in treatment programs to reduce overall crime and anti-social behaviour to reduce costs to society and the economy. It is estimated that over 4,421 crimes (90% shoplifting) were committed by alcohol treatment clients before their entry to treatment, and with an estimated 39% reduction in the number of crimes, around 1,726 crimes were prevented after treatment. The gross benefit of alcohol treatment in 2017/18 in Hull was estimated to be over £3,280,176.

Resources

Institute of Alcohol Studies. Alcohol Knowledge Centre Briefing: The Costs of Alcohol to Society, October 2020. https://www.ias.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/The-costs-of-alcohol-to-society.pdf

The Office for Health Improvement & Disparities (formerly Public Health England), 2016. The public health burden of alcohol: Evidence review.  https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-public-health-burden-of-alcohol-evidence-review

Cabinet Office, 2003. Alcohol misuse: How much does it cost?

Findings, 2015. Measuring and reducing alcohol-related harm.

Home Office, 2013. A minimum unit price for alcohol impact assessment.

Burton R, Henn C, Lavoie D, O’Connor E, Perkins C, Sweeney K. A rapid evidence review of the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of alcohol control policies: an English perspective. Lancet, 2017; 389 (10078): 1558-80.

Rehm J, Mathers C, Popova S, Thavorncharoensap M, Teerawattananon Y, Patra J. Global burden of disease and injury and economic cost attributable to alc0hol use and alcohol-use disorders. Lancet, 2009; 373 (9682): 2223-33.

Local Health and Wellbeing Surveys

The Office for Health Improvement & Disparities’ Fingertips and Local Alcohol Profiles: https://fingertips.phe.org.uk/

The Office for Health Improvement & Disparities (previously Public Health England). Alcohol-attributable fractions for England: An update, 2020. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/alcohol-attributable-fractions-for-england-an-update

Office for Health Improvement & Disparities Wider Impact of COVID-19 on Health Monitoring Tool, 2022. https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/wider-impacts-of-covid-19-on-health-monitoring-tool

Hull ReNew Alcohol Hub. https://www.changegrowlive.org/hull-renew/alcohol-hub

Updates

This page was last updated / checked on 8 November 2024.

This page is due to be updated / checked in March 2025.