Alcohol deaths in Scotland hit 15-year high

The number of people in Scotland whose deaths were caused by alcohol remains high, with the highest number of deaths in 15 years.

The latest figures from the National Records of Scotland (NRS) show that 1,277 people died from alcohol-related illnesses in 2023.

This was one more death than the previous year, which was the highest number since 2008.

Public Health Minister Jenni Minto said the Scottish Government continues to treat alcohol-related harm as a public health emergency.

Male deaths increased to 861 and again accounted for about two-thirds of alcohol-specific deaths. Female deaths decreased by 24 deaths to 416.

People aged 45-64 and 65-74 continue to have the highest mortality rates.

Alcohol-related problems were listed as the cause of death for 140 people aged 60 to 64, while 128 people aged 65 to 69 died.

The youngest age group to record alcohol-related deaths was 20 to 24 years old — this age group had two deaths in 2023.

Areas including Inverclyde, Glasgow City, North Lanarkshire and Dundee City have recorded deaths above the Scottish average.

Glasgow City continues to have the highest death rate by some margin, recording 184, although this was down from 202 the previous year. North Lanarkshire saw 115 deaths, up from 107.

Phillipa Haxton, head of vital events statistics, said death rates had “increased overall” since 2012.

She said: “If we look at the average age of death, it has increased over time.

“Death rates for people aged 65 to 74 and 75 and older were at their highest levels since we began recording these numbers in 1994.

“At the same time, for the 25-44 age group, the mortality rate has remained quite stable over the past decade.”

Public Health Minister Jenni Minto said: “My condolences go to all those who have lost a loved one to alcohol. The Scottish Government is determined to do everything we can to reduce alcohol-related harm and we continue to treat it as an equal priority to drugs as a public health emergency.”

She said that in addition to increasing the minimum unit price of alcohol, the Scottish Government invested in alcohol treatment services and was exploring ways to reduce children and young people’s exposure to alcohol marketing.

‘Shamefully loud’

Scottish Conservative health spokesman Sandesh Gulhane said alcohol-related deaths remained “shamefully high”.

He said: “The level of deaths is utterly horrific and shameful for an SNP government that insists it is progressive; it is our most deprived communities that continue to be worst affected by their failings.

“SNP ministers who have clung to their flagship policy of minimum unit prices to tackle this crisis must finally accept that it has failed monumentally.”

Scottish Labour’s public health spokeswoman Carol Mochan said: “The scale of this crisis is a national scandal.”

“The number of deaths directly caused by alcohol is just a fraction of the harm alcohol causes in Scotland, with many more lives being ruined,” she said.

She added: “There is no excuse for inaction when lives are at stake – the SNP Government must set out a comprehensive plan to tackle the root causes of this public health emergency and ensure drug and alcohol services can offer people the vital support they need.”

Dr Peter Rice, chairman of Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems, said the deaths could have been prevented.

“Scotland’s approach to reducing alcohol harm has been successful in reducing alcohol-related deaths in the past, including the introduction of Minimum Unit Pricing in 2018,” he said. “However, to be successful, the policy needs to be sustained and progressive.”

Laura Mahon, vice-chair executive of Alcohol Focus Scotland, said the figures remained “alarmingly and unacceptably high”.

“They were driven by patterns of binge drinking established during the pandemic, which unfortunately show no real signs of improving,” she said.

“We need radical change if we are to reverse this terrible wave of alcohol-related harm, which takes the lives of friends and family and affects every single one of us.”

Scotland continued to have the highest alcohol-specific death rate in the UK in 2022. UK-wide figures are not yet available for 2023.

The gap between Scotland and the other countries of the United Kingdom has narrowed over the past two decades.

In 2001, the alcohol-specific death rate in Scotland was between 2.1 and 2.9 times higher than in other UK countries.

The rate for Scotland was between 1.2 and 1.6 times higher in 2022.

Upward trend

The number of alcohol-related deaths in Scotland has been rising overall since 2012, when it fell below 1,000 for the first time since 1998.

Overall, the numbers have been on an upward trend since then, with the exception of a brief dip in 2019. In 2022, the country reached its highest level in 14 years.

Scotland became the first country in the world to introduce minimum unit pricing (MUP) for alcohol in May 2018.

From the end of this month, the minimum price per unit of alcohol in Scotland will rise from 50p to 65p – a move designed to reflect rising inflation.

The change will see the minimum price of a bottle of vodka rise from £13.13 to £17.06 and a standard can of beer go from at least £1 to £1.30.

A Scottish government-funded study published in March last year suggested that the introduction of the scheme in Scotland led to fewer alcohol-related deaths and hospital admissions compared to England.