Rounds cause 62% of Scots to drink excessively

Almost two-thirds of Scots have admitted they would be more likely to consume alcohol to excess while drinking in rounds, according to a Diageo-backed study.

According to the study, 63% of Scots regularly drink more than five drinks in one sitting

The study, funded by Johnnie Walker owner Diageo and the Scottish Football Association, polled 1,000 Scottish men and women aged 25-65. It found that almost 63% of Scots claim to regularly drink more than five drinks in one sitting, the amount considered to represent binge drinking.

Of those polled, 62% claimed they are more likely to drink that amount when drinking in rounds with friends.

According to the study, 63% of Scots admit that they are unlikely to sit a round out when drinking, with almost 25% citing peer pressure as a key reason for not skipping a round.

The study was published as Diageo launched its This Round, No Round campaign, which it hopes will change attitudes to alcohol among football fans.

Ambassador Kenny Miller launched the This Round, No Round campaign this week

Ian Smith, head of corporate relations for Diageo Scotland, said: “We are committed to challenging the negative aspects of alcohol culture in Scotland and to encouraging people to think about and change their drinking habits and behaviours.

“We commissioned this study to look at trends in drinking behaviour, and based on the insight that the majority of people feel that they drink more when drinking in rounds, we created the This Round, No Round.

“There are a number of reasons, such as peer pressure, which lead to people feeling they can’t miss a round. We want to challenge that pattern with this campaign.

The campaign, which was launched this week by ambassador Kenny Miller at Hampden Stadium, will be rolled out across social and digital channels. It will also see activations at Scottish Cup games for the remainder of the season.

Miller said: “I’m delighted to be an ambassador for this campaign and I look forward to supporting the Scottish Football Association and Diageo in their efforts to change alcohol culture in football for the better. I urge fans across Scotland to get behind this campaign by simply choosing to have one less round of drinks during this round of the Scottish Cup competition.”

While targeting football fans through its partnership with the Scottish Football Association, Diageo is also aiming to reach a wider audience and transform how people in Scotland think about alcohol. As part of this, Diageo is encouraging drinkers to test their alcohol knowledge by taking the Drink IQ Quiz, which can be found at diageo.com/en/drinkiqquiz.