Alcohol abuse kills 20 Scots every week
New figures reveal approximately 20 deaths a week in Scotland are connected to alcohol abuse, prompting fresh calls for the introduction of minimum unit pricing.
1,152 people died as a result of alcohol abuse in 2014The statistics from the National Records of Scotland (NRS) showed a total of 1,152 people died as a result of alcohol abuse in 2014, an increase of 5% on the previous year.
More than twice as many man died than women, with 784 male and 368 female deaths.
The mortality rate was in the 45-59 age category, recorded as 482 deaths – 10 more than in 2013.
The figures have prompted fresh calls from ministers and campaigners backing the introduction of minimum unit pricing for alcohol – which is currently being legally challenged by the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) and other trade members, who claim it contravenes EU trading laws.
Scotland’s health minister, Maureen Watt, told the Scotland Herald: “There is no doubt that a key factor in alcohol-related harm is affordability. This is why minimum unit pricing is such an important part of our package of measures to tackle the availability of cheap, high-strength alcohol that causes so much damage in our communities.
“Alcohol deaths in Scotland are almost double those in the early 1990s. The 5% increase in 2014, following a 2% rise the previous year, shows that even though significant progress has been made since 2006 far more needs to be done.”
Earlier this year, research revealed that Chinese consumers drink more alcohol per person than Britons, Americans and Irish.
