Alcohol-related deaths could reach 90,800 in Britain by 2019 if current trends continue, according to a recent report conducted by the University of the West of England and the United Kingdom charity Alcohol Concern.

In the UK, alcohol-related deaths tripled from 3,054 in 1984 to 8,999 in 2008. Professor Marin Plant, lead author of the report, stated, “The UK has been experiencing an epidemic of alcohol-related health and social problems that is remarkable by international standards” (SkyNews).

The steepest rise in alcohol-related deaths was between ages 55 to 74.

In Scotland, over 3,000 deaths per year are related to alcohol. The costs of alcohol abuse were estimated at $3.75 billion a year (Bloomberg).

Binge drinking is also a serious problem in the UK, especially among women. British women on average now drink twice the amount of their foreign counterparts.

Medical expert Professor Ian Gilmore said, “Being drunk is now socially acceptable. We are more than double our nearest rivals when it comes to women binge-drinking” (SkyNews).

The UK is not alone in dealing with the evils of alcohol abuse.

The Australian Department of Health and Ageing reports that 3,000 deaths and 65,000 hospitalizations every year are attributed to alcohol; in an average week, 70 Australians are hospitalized due to alcohol-related assault.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States, the annual mortality rate attributed to alcohol in America, excluding accidents and homicides, was 22,073.

The World Health Organization estimates that each year, alcohol causes 1.8 million deaths worldwide.