More than 3 per cent of all deaths in Belgium are linked to alcohol a study from health institute Sciensano confirms. The most recent figures show that in 2021, 4,000 deaths were linked to alcohol, more than 10 per day. On the eve of Tournée Minérale, a month without alcohol, Sciensano is calling for greater awareness for the underestimated health risks of alcohol.
In 2021, more than 4,000 deaths in Belgium were linked to alcohol consumption, accounting for about 3 per cent of all deaths that year. These deaths include not only heavy drinkers, but also people who drank alcohol regularly or even only occasionally in the past year.
Obesity patients already account for 6.5 per cent of liver transplants needed due to alcoholic cirrhosis.
Sciensano does not yet have figures for 2022 and 2023 deaths. The health institute bases its research on statistics from Belgian statistics office Statbel, which are always published with some delay. The number of alcohol-related deaths did increase by 14 per cent over the past 10 years, from 3,500 to 4,000 a year.
No level of alcohol consumption is healthy
‘There is no level of alcohol consumption that is healthy,’ says Brecht Devleesschauwer, epidemiologist at Sciensano. ‘Alcohol is always a risk factor for many serious diseases, such as cancer, cardiovascular disease and liver disease.’
‘Besides the direct consequences of alcohol addiction, colorectal cancer and liver cirrhosis are also major conditions that lead to death in alcohol consumers.’ In fact, more than half of all liver cirrhosis deaths are thought to be due to alcohol consumption.
The study also shows large differences across alcohol-related deaths. In 2021, 70 per cent of all people who died from alcohol consumption were men. Among women, breast cancer was the leading cause of death from alcohol consumption.
Regional differences are also striking: there were more alcohol-related deaths in the Brussels Capital Region and the Walloon Region than in Flanders. These inequalities, linked to differences in alcohol consumption, increased in recent years.
‘Alcohol industry inhibits initiatives’
In response to these figures, Sciensano is now calling for more awareness around the, often underestimated, health dangers of alcohol. ‘Alcohol is part of daily life in Belgium, which makes it difficult to combat its harmful effects,’ says Devleesschauwer.
On the eve of the Tournée Minérale, a month without alcohol, the health institute advocates stricter regulation of alcohol availability, advertising and the minimum age for purchase. It accuses the alcohol industry of trying to prevent inhibits initiatives at the European level. As a result Sciensano has now launched a study on the influence of the alcohol industry on Belgian policy. ‘Only a coordinated approach can reduce the impact of alcohol on public health,’ concludes Devleesschauwer.