New report reveals country has the eighth-highest drink consumption in the worldBy John Bynorth
Figures released today by the government, based on a comprehensive analysis of alcohol sales, found people in Scotland drank the equivalent of nearly 50 million litres of pure alcohol, or 11.8 litres for everyone over the age of 16, placing the country above Spain, France and Italy in the World Health Organisation's (WHO) league table of alcohol sales.
The figure is equal to 520 pints of 4% proof beer; almost 500 pints of 5% lager; 42 bottles of vodka or 125 bottles of wine, exceeding the 21 unit sensible weekly drinking limits for men.
Scotland even outscored England and Wales, which had an average consumption figure of 9.9 litres per head in 2007, equal to 189 units, 80-90 pints of beer or 21 bottles of wine per person over the age of 16 each year.
Public health minister Shona Robison said the position was partly caused by fact that alcohol is nearly 70% more affordable than in 1980, as prices have failed to keep pace with household income and because two-thirds of alcohol is bought in supermarkets and shops, which have multiple-purchase discounts and other promotions. Overall, Robison said there had been a 21% rise in consumption across the UK over the last three decades.
Robison has pledged to outline a "radical package" of measures to tackle the problem, on top of the SNP government's plan to raise the age limit for buying alcohol from off-sales from 18 to 21.
She said: "When it comes to alcohol consumption, Scotland is worrying close to the top of the international league table. Data from the alcohol industry itself indicates that we're buying and drinking much more than people in the other UK countries and most of the rest of the world.
"Alcohol is frequently sold as a loss -leader, with heavily discounted deals and pocket-money prices the norm. The sad knock-on of all this has been a huge rise in all types of alcohol-related illnesses and deaths, with Scotland's liver cirrhosis rate one of the fastest-growing worldwide and double that of England and Wales.
"Health experts are now agreed that alcohol misuse is the most pressing public health issue facing Scotland, and we have to get to grips with it. Deluding ourselves that over-consumption of alcohol is consequence-free, or someone else's problem, is no longer an option."
She added: "We have consulted on a radical package of measures to rebalance our country's relationship with alcohol and will outline the way forward shortly."
The new figures would put Scotland behind leaders Luxembourg (15.6 litres sold per head) in the WHO alcohol sales league, as well as Ireland (13.7), Hungary (13.6), Moldova (13.2), Czech Republic (13), Croatia (12.3) and Germany (12). England and Wales would be joint-15th with Lithuania (9.9).
Scotland's consumption is far higher than the US (8.6), Canada (7.8) and Russia (10.3), where alcoholism has cut average life expectancy to 59 years.
The Scottish Health Survey recently estimated that 50% of men and 30% of women may be drinking above their weekly limits of 21 and 14 units respectively, and the most recent General Household Survey, carried out by the Office for National Statistics, found that middle-income people in the UK were more likely to exceed their daily recommended alcohol consumption than people from poorer backgrounds. It revealed that 8724 people died as a result of alcohol in 2007. Although that was fewer than in 2006, it still remained double the 1991 figure of 4144.
Dr Bruce Ritson, chairman of the Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems, called on the government to carry out a similarly bold policy to reduce alcohol-related deaths as the previous Executive did in introducing a smoking ban in public places in 2006.
He said: "We've known for some time that alcohol-related deaths in Scotland have been rising at a faster rate than our neighbours', and these figures explain why. The evidence is clear: the more people drink, the more harm they experience."
Jack Law, chief executive of Alcohol Focus, questioned why the SNP administration had not prioritised the issue earlier. He added: "We are a bit disappointed it has taken the government this long to do something about such a massive problem. However, we have to balance that against the fact that the government is taking a radical approach and will be able to put in place the measures which will make a difference."
Professor Martin Plant of the University of the West of England, Bristol, who has conducted several studies into alcoholism, said that cirrhosis now affects 20 to 30-year-olds in addition to those aged between 55 and 74, the age group who most commonly succumb to alcohol-related illnesses.
He added: "What is really worrying is that the UK as a whole has seen a rise in alcohol consumption and related deaths. Although the Office for National Statistics found that deaths had slowed down in 2007, it's a bit like saying that we have climbed a bit further up Mount Everest, but we are still near the base camp. We are in a bad position."
Drinks giant Diageo, which last month recruited racing driver Lewis Hamilton to campaign against government plans to increase the minimum off-sales purchase age from 18 to 21, said it welcomed the public debate to identify polices based on the evidence of alcohol-related harm.
However, a spokeswoman added: "Effective solutions do not come from introducing ill-conceived policies that penalise all adult drinkers and do not allow people to use good judgement."
