A steady rise in long-term heavy drinking has led to a doubling of alcohol-related deaths among men over the past decade, according to official figures.

The study of “preventable mortality” found that the rate of alcohol-related deaths had risen sharply among women too, with two thirds more dying of diseases such as cirrhosis over the period.

The rise in alcohol-related deaths is in stark contrast to sharp falls in the rest of the top five “preventable causes of mortality”.

Lung cancer and other pulmonary diseases are both down by a third, while suicide is down by 14 per cent. The data were released in the Office for National Statistics’ quarterly survey of the nation’s health.

However, it also found disturbing evidence that, despite good early progress, the Government’s efforts to cut the number of smokers may soon become ineffective.

New research has found that the rate at which people are giving up smoking is slowing down sharply. Although fewer have taken up the habit in the past 50 years, they are far less likely to give up once they start.

The reluctance to quit is most pronounced among people in households headed by a manual worker. This is the group the Government is particularly trying to reach with its antismoking message.

Statisticians said that if the pattern continued, the number of smokers in the general population could reach a plateau.

Alcohol Concern said that the biggest increase in alcohol-related deaths was among those aged 35 to 54, a generation of people who started drinking heavily in their youth and carried on into middle age.