Action urged as number of cases jumps 30% in 10 years
Record numbers of alcohol-related deaths in Northern Ireland have sparked warnings about the dangers of excessive drinking.
Official figures showed 303 of the 16,036 deaths registered here in 2017 were due to alcohol abuse - the highest level recorded.
This figure has increased consecutively each year since 2013 and represents a jump of 30% from a decade previously - and a 70% rise since records began in 2001.
n total there have been 3,939 alcohol-related deaths in 16 years - 2,697 male and 1,242 female.
Alcohol-specific deaths account for less than 2% of the total deaths registered in Northern Ireland each year.
As in previous years, the number of alcohol-related deaths was higher among males, accounting for 212 (70%) of the 2017 total, compared to 91 females.