NEIGHBOURHOODS with most licensed premises have more than double the rates of alcohol-related illness and deaths, campaigners claim.
Authors of a study investigating the links between alcohol availability and health statistics across Scotland also found off-sales outlets, such as corner shops and supermarkets, had the greatest potential for alcohol-related harm.
The report, being presented at the Alcohol Focus Scotland annual conference today in Edinburgh, has sparked calls for a reduction in the number of premises able to sell liquor. But the report admits it cannot say with certainty that the number of licensed premises
actually causes alcohol-related death and harm, with lobbyists claiming the real culprits are health inequality and deprivation.
The authors also claim that
by including venues such as restaurants as licensed made
it a "relatively crude way of measuring the actual availability of alcohol in a neighbourhood".
One trade body, the Scottish Grocers' Federation, also accused Alcohol Focus Scotland of attempting to influence the Scottish Parliament's new Licensing Bill, while the Wines and Spirits Trade Association described it as "too simplistic".
The researchers used Scotland's 6505 datazones, comparing the number of alcohol outlets with records of alcohol-related hospital admissions and deaths, including liver disease and poisoning.
It found there were 34 alcohol-related deaths per 100,000 people in areas with the most off-sales outlets, against 13 per 100,000 in areas with the fewest.
It claimed locations with high concentrations of pubs and clubs can "encourage harmful drinking episodes through the coming together of drinkers and competitive drinks markets". Meanwhile, clusters of off-sales outlets also create more competitive markets, "with alcohol promotion tactics such as loss-leading and discounting used to compete with other stores".
Dr Elizabeth Richardson, of the Centre For Research On Environment, Society And Health at
Edinburgh University, said: "The strong relationship we found between alcohol outlets and related health outcomes leads us to suggest that reducing outlet numbers, particularly in the highest availability neighbourhoods, could have health benefits for the Scottish population."
Dr Evelyn Gillan, chief executive of Alcohol Focus Scotland, said: "If we want fewer people to end up in hospital or lose their lives because of alcohol, then we have to be concerned about the high number of alcohol outlets in our neighbourhoods. Licensing boards have a key role to play in regulating the overall number of licensed premises and their decisions should be informed by studies such as this."
John Lee, of the Scottish Grocers' Federation, which represents hundreds of smaller licensed stores, said the report ignored recent policy changes that mean retailers can no longer promote or advertise alcohol in the way claimed.
He added: "This report recognises its own serious limitations. It also ignores the fact it is health inequality that is the key issue. It is our most disadvantaged communities that suffer the most from alcohol-related ill health."
William Boyack, spokesman for the Wines and Spirits Trade Association, said: "It is overly simplistic to link the number of licensed premises with levels of alcohol-related harm and ignore important social indicators, such as the level of economic deprivation, which are far more likely to influence rates of harm."
He said alcohol-related deaths in Scotland were down 36 per cent over the last 10 years. The report said one in every 20 deaths and one in every 20 hospital episodes in Scotland was attributable to alcohol.
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