UK alcohol-related death rate worst in Scotland

Scotland recorded the highest rate for alcohol-related deaths throughout the UK, according to figures collated over the past 20 years.

New figures show alcohol-related deaths are highest in Scotland compared to the rest of the UK

Alcohol-related death rates for men in Scotland have significantly increased, according to data published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

In Scotland, the number of deaths was reported as 31.2 per 100,000 of the population, compared to 18.1 per 100,000 in England, 20.3 in Northern Ireland and 19.9 in Wales.

The death rate among women was also higher in Scotland compared to the rest of the UK, with 13.3 alcohol-related deaths per 100,000 women – more than the 9.1 per 100,000 reported in England, 8.5 per 100,000 in Northern Ireland and 10.4 per 100,000 for Wales.

Professor Kevin Fenton, director of health and wellbeing at Public Health England, said: “Alcohol harms individuals, families and communities and it’s crucial that, alongside effective local interventions and treatment for those that need it, we look more widely at what affects drinking behaviour in this country, such as marketing and pricing.”

In 1994, there were 482 alcohol-related male deaths in Scotland, which jumped to 784 in 2014.

For women, these figures stood at 259 women who died as a result of alcohol-related causes in 1994, which rose to 368 by 2014.

Maureen Watt, Scotland’s public health minister, said: “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.”