About the Local Alcohol Profiles for England

Alcohol misuse is the biggest risk factor for death, ill-health and disability among 15-49 year olds in the UK, and the fifth biggest risk factor across all ages. Alcohol is a causal factor in more than 60 medical conditions, including: mouth, throat, stomach, liver and breast cancers, high blood pressure, cirrhosis of the liver, and depression.

The indicators contained within this profile were selected following consultation with stakeholders and a review of the availability of routine data. The Local Alcohol Profiles for England (LAPE) are part of a series of products by Public Health England that provide local data alongside national comparisons to support local health improvement.

Alcohol use has health and social consequences borne by individuals, their families, and the wider community. The aim of LAPE is to provide information for local government, health organisations, commissioners and other agencies to monitor the impact of alcohol on local communities, and to monitor the services and initiatives that have been put in place to prevent and reduce the harmful impact of alcohol.

The tool allows you to compare your local authority against other local authorities in the region and benchmark your local authority against the England or regional average.

What’s new in the tool in August 2022?

  • New data for: potential years of life lost (PYLL) due to alcohol-related conditions (new methodology); casualties in road traffic accidents where a failed breath test occurred (new methodology); incidence rate for alcohol-related cancers;
  • To show the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic, the mortality indicators are now presented as single years.

In addition to the standard indicators, LAPE contains data for hospital admissions broken down by age and cause. These data, along with additional data, reports, method documents and supporting documents that may be of use, can be found within the Further resources section. A list of changes made to the profiles in each update from February 2017 can be found here.