Scots drinking too much: Report

By Dr. Ananya Mandal, MDMar 21 2011

According to a survey by Britains’s NHS, people of Scotland are drinking too much. Deaths related to alcohol are at an all time high in the country. The survey finds that Scots are consuming an additional 1.2 litres of pure alcohol per year. Alcohol-related deaths and hospital admissions are four times higher since the 1980’s. A recent report has also showed that alcohol related deaths were six-fold higher among the poor people.

The report revealed that Scots are buying almost twice as much spirits as their counterparts in England and Wales. The NHS Health Scotland reports that total annual drink sales north of the border rose by 11% between 1994 and 2009. The experts at the organization said this increase was driven by a 53% jump in the amount of alcohol being sold through off-sales. Annual sales of spirits were consistently almost double those in England and Wales during that 15 years. The report, which was commissioned by the Scottish government in 2008, revealed that per capita alcohol sales in Scotland were now more than a fifth (21%) higher than those south of the border.

However experts speculate that it is too early to tell if recent drops in alcohol-related deaths and hospital admissions would continue. Alcohol-related deaths have fallen recently but Health Scotland said they were still twice as high in Scotland as in England and Wales.

According to Dr Laurence Gruer, NHS Health Scotland's director of public health science, “Alcohol-related deaths are three times higher and hospital admissions are four times higher than in the early 1980s…In the most recent years alcohol-related deaths and hospital admissions have declined…This is encouraging but it is important to look at long-term trends and it's certainly too early to tell if the recent improvements will continue.”

Sales of wine in Scotland have also more than doubled since 1994 and adults north of the border now buy more wine per head than their counterparts in England and Wales. The report’s authors called for the affordability of alcoholic drinks and its relationship with consumption to be tracked over time.

Spirits such as vodka and whisky account for 29 per cent of the alcohol bought in Scotland in 2009 compared to 19 per cent in the south. Most of the difference in alcohol sales between Scotland and the south is in shop sales, with vodka accounting for the largest share - 38 per cent - of that difference. Whisky accounted for only 17 per cent of the difference.

Tom Roberts, project director for Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems, said, “With much of this alcohol available at well under 30p per unit, we must take action on price…Minimum unit pricing is the most effective mechanism we know of to raise the price of cheap alcohol…Next week's Budget is also an opportunity to begin to reverse the increased affordability which drives consumption.”

Jennifer Curran, Alcohol Focus Scotland head of policy, added, “We must face up to the fact alcohol is now more affordable, more available and is more heavily marketed than at any time over the last 30 years…Research evidence shows establishing a minimum unit price for alcohol is one of the most effective ways to increase price and reduce consumption.”

Labour health spokeswoman Jackie Baillie also said, “These figures provide yet more evidence alcohol abuse is a major problem in Scotland, although there are welcome signs that consumption is now falling.” The Lib Dems’ Robert Brown concluded saying, “The key change that is needed in Scotland is a change in the drinking culture.”