It was the poet TS Eliot who articulated the vulnerability of man when he said ��death has a hundred hands and comes by a thousand ways��.

It was the poet TS Eliot who articulated the vulnerability of man when he said death has a hundred hands and comes by a thousand ways''.

When it comes to the nation's love affair with drink, it seems there are at least 50 ways alone where alcohol plays a significant hand.

According to NHS figures, one in 20 Scots - twice as many as previously thought - are dying from alcohol-related diseases.

Last night there were calls for political parties to back the Scottish Government's plans to a implement a minimum pricing of alcohol by unit to tackle the death rate.

The report identifies 53 separate causes of death where alcohol plays a significant role, with 19 defined as wholly attributable to alcohol consumption and 34 partly attributable.

The figures also show men were more at risk of dying from alcohol than women, and there were disproportionately more alcohol-related deaths among younger age groups.

Alcohol was implicated in around a quarter of fatalities involving men aged 35 to 44 and around one-fifth of female deaths in the same age group.

Cancer deaths accounted for just over a fifth of all alcohol-attributable deaths, and alcohol consumption was cited as a major factor in 20% of breast cancer cases.

But while the new study is the most comprehensive yet published in Scotland, researchers said that even the dramatic figure of one in 20 deaths represented only a "conservative estimate".

Because the study was based on surveys, which rely on people being able to add up the number of units they drink and then answering honestly, the authors note that "estimates of alcohol attributable mortality and patient-specific discharges will probably be higher than those reported in this study."

On top of the deaths, about 41,400 people were discharged from hospital due to alcohol consumption - more than one in 20 of all patients over 16. Again the situation was worse for men than for women, with around 10% of all male hospital discharges directly involving alcohol. The figure for women was lower, though it rose to nearly 10% in the 45 to 54 age group.

Nicola Sturgeon, the Health Secretary, said: "To have one in 20 Scots dying from alcohol-related causes is a truly shocking statistic. Drinking alcohol is part of Scottish culture, but it's clear that many people are drinking too much and damaging their health in the process.

"Alcohol misuse is the biggest public health challenge we face and the Scottish Government has made crystal clear our determination to get to grips with it."

The study also found that 1493 heart disease deaths may have been prevented by low levels of alcohol consumption, although the experts said low levels of consumption also put individuals at risk of other conditions.

Dr Peter Terry, chairman of the British Medical Association Scotland, urged political parties to unite behind the SNP government's plans for minimum pricing to combat alcohol abuse.

Speaking at the BMA's annual conference, he said: "We must first stop the year-on-year increase in alcohol-related illness.

"The minority SNP government has proposed some quite radical legislative suggestions to tackle this problem, including a minimum unit price. In Scotland this suggestion will require the support of MSPs from the other political parties.

"I implore them to put party differences aside and provide that support. They, and the Scottish people they represent, must address the exponentially growing problem of alcohol-related disease in all its forms and the only proven way to do that is to include legislation on the price of alcohol as part of that strategy."

Labour spokesperson Cathy Jamieson endorsed Dr Terry's call for political unity.

She said: "We need a national consensus to tackle Scotland's hard-drinking culture involving all of our political parties, health organisations, the police and the industry itself. Labour has suggested a ban on billboards advertising alcohol near schools and a mandatory code of practice for retailers, but we will look seriously at any credible proposals from any source that will reduce the level of problem drinking in Scotland."

Tory health spokesperson Mary Scanlon warned the government should not rely on pricing as a "single tool solution".

"Alcohol addiction and drink bingeing is a complex problem, requiring a co-ordinated response. We urgently need better education about the harm which alcohol can cause and rehabilitation programmes based on abstinence and recovery.

"In addition we must target problem drinks and problem drinkers and apply existing laws to crack down on retailers who sell to underage drinkers. Those who sell drink to youngsters deserve to lose their licence."