Sadly, it has long been known that deprivation and ill-health are closely linked in Scotland.

This is most starkly illustrated by life expectancy, which is substantially higher in the most well-to-do parts of the country than in the poorest areas. The Scottish Government notes that Scotland has the largest inequalities in mortality in western Europe.

The latest official figures show that there are still much higher mortality rates among people aged 15-44 in the most deprived areas, as well as much higher rates of hospital admission for alcohol-related causes.

But this latest snapshot also shows that deaths among those aged 15-44 have actually gone up in notably affluent areas while dropping in the most deprived places. This means that the gap between the least and most deprived is at its lowest in 16 years. Meanwhile, hospital admissions for alcohol-related harm are dropping substantially faster in the poorest areas compared to the richest ones.

Any rise in deaths among the young are a serious worry, entailing deep human tragedy, and ought to be scrutinised carefully. Could the increase in better-off areas be linked to alcohol use? (There is no question that alcohol use by the middle classes has been a cause of concern for years.) It is hard to say at this stage. The figures could be a one-off random variation.

What can be said with certainty is that the inequality gap appears to be reducing in some respects.

Perhaps government policies are finally starting to pay off. Although minimum alcohol pricing has not yet been implemented, analysts speculate that the banning of buy-one-get-one-free deals on alcoholic drinks in supermarkets could be having an effect by limiting the amount of alcohol some people can afford to buy.

In the aftermath of a recession when prices have risen while wages have stagnated and many benefits have been cut, it is plausible that consumers on low incomes simply cannot afford to drink as much as they might once have.

Shortage of cash will not stop serious alcoholics from prioritising spending on booze above all else but it could conceivably stop others from indulging in one-off binges that could risk landing them in hospital.

The better-off, perhaps unfairly, have not faced such choices; indeed, in recession, those on higher incomes are more likely to do without big ticket items such as expensive holidays, but give themselves instead home "treats" such as bottles of wine.

This may help to explain why alcohol-related hospital admissions have not dropped as sharply in wealthy as opposed to deprived areas, though of course it is also the case that they were not nearly as high to begin with.

While positive, these improvements are still set against a backdrop of appalling inequality, with hospital admissions caused by excessive drinking still five times higher in the poorest compared to the richest areas.

Far too many Scots continue to have an unhealthy relationship with alcohol, but at least there are signs that the picture, particularly for the poorest, may be starting to change.