Alcohol deaths in Scotland increase to 1,277

The number of deaths from alcohol-specific causes reached its highest level in 15 years in 2023, standing at 1,277.

This was an increase of one death from the year before and continues an upward trend, official records from the National Records of Scotland (NRS) show.

Campaigners say this is “alarmingly and unacceptably high” and urged government to make a “radical step change” in its approach to alcohol policy.

Public health minister Jenni Minto has expressed “sympathy” to all those effected and said the government was “determined to do all it can” to tackle the issue.

Men accounted for two-thirds of deaths in 2023, with people aged 45-74 having the highest mortality rates.

The mortality rates for those aged over 65 were at the highest level since records began three decades ago.

At the same time, deaths of those aged 25-44 have remained stable for the last decade.

Areas most impacted by alcohol-related deaths were Inverclyde, Glasgow, North Lanarkshire and Dundee.

Deprivation is a major factor, with 4.5 times more deaths of people from the most deprived areas on Scotland compared to the least deprived.

Phillipa Haxton, head of Vital Events Statistics at the NRS, said: “The rate of alcohol-specific deaths peaked in 2006 and then fell until 2012. Since then, it has generally risen.”

Figures for the rest of the UK are yet to be published, but in previous years Scotland had the highest alcohol-specific death rate.

Laura Mahon, deputy chief of Alcohol Focus Scotland, has said the government had not been treating the matter as a public health emergency.

She said: “Alcohol deaths continue to be alarmingly and unacceptably high. They have been driven by heavy drinking patterns established during the pandemic which unfortunately show no real sign of improving.

“We need a radical step change if we are to turn this terrible tide of alcohol harm, which claims the lives of friends and family and impacts every one of us.

“Well over a year ago, Alcohol Focus Scotland, along with 30 other organisations, called for an emergency response that is proportionate to the scale of the problem. Despite the Scottish Government recognising alcohol as a public health emergency, there simply has not been one.

“As a matter of urgency the Scottish Government must provide leadership by setting a clear national vision and developing a coherent plan for delivery with health boards, local authorities and the third sector.

“Tacking alcohol onto the National Mission on Drugs is not good enough, there are distinct issues that need to be addressed not least because alcohol is a legal and highly normalised drug.”

These figures follow the publication of drug-related deaths last month, which showed 1,172 people died in 2023 from drug misuse.

A ministerial statement is scheduled for Thursday afternoon in the Scottish Parliament to allow the government to set out what it is doing to tackle the dual crises and drug and alcohol deaths.

Minto said: “My sympathy goes out to all those who have lost a loved one through alcohol. The Scottish Government is determined to do all it can to reduce alcohol-related harm and we continue to treat it as an equal priority with drugs as a public health emergency.

“Research commended by internationally-renowned public health experts estimated that our world-leading Minimum Unit Pricing policy has saved hundreds of lives, likely averted hundreds of alcohol-attributable hospital admissions and contributed to tackling health inequalities. The forthcoming price increase to 65p per unit which takes account of inflation, was selected as we seek to continue and increase the positive effects of the policy.

“We are also taking a wide range of other measures including investing in alcohol treatment services, such as the innovative Managed Alcohol Programme pilot in Glasgow and continuing to engage with stakeholders on reducing children and young people’s exposure to alcohol marketing.”

Conservative health spokesman Sandesh Gulhane said alcohol deaths were “disgracefully high” and that minimum unit pricing had “monumentally failed”.

He added: “It has been a blunt instrument to tackle a complex problem, with those suffering from alcohol addiction skipping meals to buy more drink, even as SNP ministers hiked prices by 30 per cent during a cost-of-living crisis.

“Ministers should instead finally give their full support to the Right to Recovery Bill. It is backed by frontline experts and would enshrine in law a right to treatment – including residential rehabilitation – for all those who need it.”

Labour's public health spokesperson Carol Mochan said the death rate was “a damning indictment of the SNP’s record of failure in government”.

She added: “There is no excuse for inaction when lives are on the line – 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 lifesaving support they need.”

The Scottish Greens have backed a public health levy on alcohol and tobacco retailers, which could be used to invest in support services.

Health spokesperson Gillian Mackay said: “Minimum unit pricing has been an important step forward, but the money made from it is staying with the supermarkets rather than being used to support people and families who are on the frontline of the crisis.

“If retailers are profiting from the sale of products that are damaging public health, like alcohol and tobacco, then they should also pay towards mitigating the health and social costs that they cause.”