Shameful record on alcohol revealed

Published on Sunday 22 February 2009 22:25

SCOTLAND has one of the worst records on alcohol in the world, according to two new pieces of evidence published yesterday.

One set of statistics showed that Scotland has the eighth highest level of alcohol consumption in the world while another revealed that almost 1,500 Scots are dying every year through drink.

The consumption figures, from market data analysed by the Scottish Government, disclosed that nearly 50 million litres of pure alcohol were drunk in 2007 – the equivalent of 11.8 litres for every person aged over 16.

That is the equivalent of everyone over 16 drinking 570 pints of normal strength beer, or 125 bottles of wine, or 42 bottles of vodka a year.

And when compared to the latest figures from the World Health Organisation, the figures showed that Scotland has the eighth highest level of pure alcohol consumption.

The other research data, from Glasgow University and the Medical Research Council, found that on average 999 men in Scotland and 448 women die from alcohol-related causes every year.

The drink-related death rate stands at 38 per 100,000 people for men and 16 per 100,000 for women. But in the Glasgow Ibrox area that rises to 176 per 100,000 for men and 58.9 per 100,000 for women.