A new report finds that alcohol-related deaths in Wisconsin rose almost 25% in 2020.
The nonpartisan Wisconsin Policy Forum released data Thursday that shows 1,077 Wisconsin residents died of alcohol-related causes in 2020, up from 865 in 2019.
The data was compiled from U.S. residents' death certificates.
The report uses the U.S. Centers for Disease Control's definition of alcohol-related deaths to mean deaths directly attributed to excessive drinking such as alcohol poisoning and liver disease.
The definition does not include deaths caused by drunken driving or alcohol-fueled violence.
The report speculates that the increase in deaths may be driving by higher rates of binge drinking in Wisconsin and the state's history of high alcohol consumption.