Alcohol-related deaths double in 10 years

The numbers shot up from 4,144 in 1991 - some 6.9 per 100,000 population - to 8,380 in 2004 (13.0), data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed.

The statistics showed death rates in men of all ages increased between 1991 and 2004, with the highest levels seen in those aged 35 to 54. Middle-aged men in 2004 had a death rate over three times that for men aged 15-34, almost twice the rate for men aged 55-74, and two and a half times the rate for men aged over 75.

The ONS statistics showed figures for women of all ages were "consistently lower" than for men, but added "…the trends showed a broadly similar pattern by age".

The death rate for women aged 35 to 54 increased between 1991 and 2004, from 9.3 to 17.9 per 100,000 population, a larger increase than in any other female age group.