CALLS are being made for more action on alcohol awareness after it was revealed 11 deaths were recorded in Ceredigion in 2022.

Office for National Statistics figures show there were 11 deaths in 2022 due to health conditions as a direct consequence of alcohol misuse in Ceredigion.

It was up from nine deaths the year before, and was an increase from eight in 2019, before the pandemic.

Neighbouring Carmarthenshire recorded 36 alcohol-related deaths in 2022 with Powys recording 13 and Gwynedd, 12.

Across the UK, there were 10,048 deaths from alcohol-specific causes – a record high and 33 per cent higher than in 2019 when there were 7,565 deaths recorded.

Dr Richard Piper, chief executive of Alcohol Change UK, said: "Each one of those deaths is a tragedy, representing a person who has had their life cut short and has left behind people who are grieving and miss them every day."

He added: "Years of inaction on alcohol harm has led to this, and the heartbreaking thing is these deaths were totally avoidable.

"Our Government has the responsibility and the power to put preventative measures in place, including proper regulation of alcohol marketing, clearer alcohol labelling, and a minimum price for a unit of alcohol."

Between 2012 and 2019, deaths specifically attributed to alcohol were "stable", the ONS said.

ONS health statistician David Mais added: "Alcohol-specific deaths rose sharply with the onset of the pandemic, and today's results show a continuation of that trend, with deaths around a third higher than in 2019."

He said research has suggested people who were already drinking at high levels before the pandemic were the most likely to have increased their drinking during this period.

Professor Sir Ian Gilmore, chairman of the Alcohol Health Alliance UK, said: "We are in the midst of a public health crisis and the lack of government action to prevent the lives lost and resulting devastation for families, friends and communities is a shameful failure in public policy.”

He added the next government must prepare to "step up" with a comprehensive alcohol strategy, with restrictions on marketing, availability and pricing.