Two in three Scots admit to drinking too much

Published on Sunday 18 October 2009 21:42

TWO-THIRDS of Scots admit to drinking too much alcohol, new research has revealed.

In a study examining the reason why people drink, only 35 per cent of Scots said they drink in moderation, while the rest said they drink excessively.

A quarter (26 per cent) of Londoners hit the bottle to calm their nerves, and one in ten said they drink because of depression.

But in Wales, 22 per cent of those polled said they binge drink while with friends.

The British Society of Gastroenterology research was published as Scotland's most senior police officer said the country's binge drinking is out of control and a charity claimed 90,800 people across the UK could die as a result of alcohol abuse over the next ten years.

Campaigners are today calling for better education for young people on the dangers of drinking and urged Scottish politicians to back plans to introduce a minimum price for alcohol in Scotland.

Pat Shearer, president of the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland and chief constable of Dumfries and Galloway police, said that binge drinking had damaged Scotland's international image, and called for children as young as five to be educated about alcohol abuse.

Mr Shearer said: "We can't continue the way we are, the costs are far, far too high.

"Every weekend, we see the extreme impact of binge-drinking, not only on ourselves but also the great demand it places on the health service and the damage it does to families."

Scotland is one of the heaviest drinking countries in Europe, with more than 1,400 alcohol-related deaths last year. Scots are also twice as likely to suffer an alcohol-related death as people in the rest of the United Kingdom.

The charity Alcohol Concern reported that drink-related deaths across the whole of the UK have gone up from 3,054 in 1984 to 8,999 in 2008, so at current consumption levels 90,800 people will die by 2019.

Alcohol Concern chief executive Don Shenker said: "This is an unacceptably high death toll and the worst part is that all of these deaths are avoidable."

The Scottish Government announced plans earlier this year for a new law to bring in a minimum price for alcohol.

Health campaigners are urging politicians to ensure that it is sold for at least 40p a unit.

Dr Evelyn Gillan, director of Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems, said: "The evidence suggest that anything less than 40p would not make enough of an impact on people's habits and so produce the necessary health benefits.

"You have to have policies that will reduce overall consumption amongst the population and the best way to do that is controls on price."

Overall, the cost of alcohol misuse to the NHS in Scotland is estimated at about 400m.