James Evans says efforts must be made to address the high number of alcohol-related deaths occurring in Wales.

The Brecon and Radnorshire MS said it is at its highest level for 20 years, with a 19 per cent increase from 2019 and the pandemic making things worse.

He said “it is simply not good enough” and that too many people are losing their lives unnecessarily due to alcohol abuse.

Mr Evans said at the Senedd: “Cases of alcohol dependency in Wales disproportionately affect those from poorer communities.

“The Welsh Government, along with the UK Government, must do more to help those people in our poorer communities and provide a stronger commitment, enhanced resources and measurable targets to combat alcohol-related harm.

“I’m deeply concerned by figures from the patient episode database from 2019-20 which showed that there were nearly 14,749 hospital admissions with an alcohol-specific condition.

“This is an absolutely staggering figure that should shock everybody in this Chamber.

“It just shows how much alcohol abuse is putting pressure on our NHS at a time when it can take no more.”

Mr Evans said alcohol is considered to be a factor in nearly 49 per cent of violent crimes in Wales compared with 39 per cent in England, and 18 per cent of Welsh adults reported drinking over the weekly guidelines.

He said: “Having a couple of glasses of wine may be okay, but for some people it’s not enough.

“Some people cannot handle their alcohol, and this feeds into domestic violence cases and extreme violence cases on our streets. If we can get underneath this, we can start to tackle the wider problems in our society.

“When we’re aware of an issue like this, and we have the tools and the means to address the challenges people face, we have a duty to act wherever possible and we must work together.”

Mr Evans said he was fully aware of the Welsh Government’s substance misuse delivery plan.

He told MSs: “We’ve discussed this in this Chamber before, but we must go further on that to really help people who are dependent on alcohol.

“I think a progressive, forward thinking, collaborative approach to addressing substance misuse is needed. People lose too many loved ones far too soon.”