Health campaigners have today repeated their calls for England to adopt minimum alcohol pricing.
It comes after a new study found the biggest drinkers bought more alcohol during lockdowns, despite pubs being closed.
Britain's heaviest drinkers — defined as those living in the top 20 per cent of alcohol-buying households — bought 17-times more alcohol from shops than the bottom 20 per cent during the first lockdown.
Increases in alcohol purchases were not as sharp in Scotland and Wales, according to the study of 80,000 households.
Experts said the findings show minimum unit pricing for alcohol — currently fixed at 50p in Scotland and Wales — 'can make a difference to purchases'.
Sir Ian Gilmore, chair of the Alcohol Health Alliance, said: 'The pandemic highlights the urgent need for the Government to take action to protect the most vulnerable drinkers and disadvantaged communities from alcohol harm.
'This study suggests that minimum unit pricing can make a difference to purchases.'
And Professor Eileen Kaner, co-author of the Newcastle University study, said limiting alcohol prices in England should be considered.
The Newcastle University researchers graph shows the average amount of alcohol purchased per adult across Britain per day of the year in 2015 to 2019 (green line) and in 2020 (red line). The vertical black line marks when the Covid lockdown came into force on March 26, when all non-essential shops were forced to close and people were ordered to stay at home
Figures from the ONS show fatality rates in Scotland and Northern Ireland were around a third higher than the UK average in 2020, with 21.5 and 19.6 deaths per 100,000, respectively. England and Wales continued to have lower rates of alcohol-specific deaths, with 13 and 13.9 deaths per 100,000 persons, respectively. However, the largest year-on-year increase was seen in England, where deaths increased by 19.3 per cent, and in Wales, where the figure rose 17.8 per cent
Official data shows 2020 saw the biggest leap in alcohol-related deaths in the UK in the last 20 years, with nearly 9,000 fatalities registered.
Researchers analysed the shopping habits of 79,417 households from 2015 to 2020, covering 5million alcoholic drink purchases.
Overall alcohol sales from shops was only 29 per cent during lockdowns.
Heaviest drinkers bought an average of 38 units every week — the equivalent of just under a litre of vodka, or four bottles of wine.
For
