Half of Scots are affected by heavy drinkers

HALF of all Scots are suffering because of someone else’s excessive drinking, while a third have heavy drinkers in their lives, a survey has found.
A third of Scots have heavy drinkers in their lives, a survey has found. Picture: TSPLA third of Scots have heavy drinkers in their lives, a survey has found. Picture: TSPL
A third of Scots have heavy drinkers in their lives, a survey has found. Picture: TSPL

Alcohol Focus Scotland commissioned the study of more than 1,000 Scottish adults.

Dr Evelyn Gillan, chief executive, said: “Our research shows just how far-reaching alcohol harm is. One in two Scots are affected in some way by other people’s drinking.

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“This can range from feeling uneasy at aggressive behaviour on the bus, picking up the slack at work because a colleague has called in sick with a hangover, or children living with heavy-drinking parents.

“Many of these problems are not being reported, either because they are simply tolerated or because they are going on behind closed doors.

Alison Todd, of the charity Children 1st, said: “Home should be somewhere children feel safe and secure, yet we know from experience just how often children can bear the brunt of our nation’s attitude to alcohol, as this research confirms.”

Health secretary Alex Neil said: “We know that heavy drinking is a common factor in family break-up.

“We have placed a whole population approach at the heart of our Alcohol Framework, which includes over 40 measures to reduce alcohol-related harm.”

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