Drinkers warned as deaths from alcohol-linked diseases rise

Deaths from conditions linked to alcohol - such as bowel and breast cancer - have risen slightly, figures show.

New data published by Public Health England (PHE) shows a 1% rise in deaths from conditions related to drinking, from 22,779 in 2013 to 22,967 deaths in 2014.

These include some deaths from heart disease, cancer of the oesophagus and mouth, breast and bowel cancer and diabetes Type 2.

Meanwhile, fewer adults are dying from conditions directly caused by alcohol, such as alcoholic liver disease and alcohol poisoning.

Professor Kevin Fenton, director of health and wellbeing at PHE, said: "There are over 10 million people in England drinking alcohol at increasingly harmful levels putting them at risk of conditions such as cancer.

"For women who drink, they are 20% more likely to get breast cancer than those that don't.

"Alcohol harms individuals, families and communities and it's crucial that, alongside effective local interventions and treatment for those that need it, we look more widely at what affects drinking behaviour in this country.

"Public Health England will soon be providing a report to Government on how we can reduce the harms caused by alcohol."