Many Scots remain ignorant of how much it is safe to drink, but believe alcohol causes more harm north of the border than heroin or tobacco.
Many Scots remain ignorant of how much it is safe to drink, but believe alcohol causes more harm north of the border than heroin or tobacco.
According to the findings of the Scottish Social Attitudes Survey, less than half of those quizzed could identify the recommended daily intake for men and women, despite a string of high-profile anti-alcohol campaigns.
Almost half believed Scotland's record of heavy drinking was a source of shame but two-thirds also said it was "a major part of the Scottish way of life".
The findings come as the SNP administration ramps up efforts to crack down on "booze culture". Heavy drinking results in 40,000 hospital admissions a year and 70% of assaults are alcohol-related.
The Scottish Government claims the national relationship with alcohol costs the country £2.25bn a year.
At the same time, a poll for a leading trade lobby group has found that the majority of Scots believe the government's plans to increase the price of alcohol are "unfair" on the majority of drinkers.
Some 1058 people across Scotland were interviewed for the social attitudes survey by the Scottish Centre for Social Research.
There was clear recognition of the harm caused by alcohol in the report, called Something To Be Ashamed Of Or Part Of Our Way Of Life? Attitudes Towards Alcohol In Scotland. A total of 89% of women and 80% of men recognised that hazardous drinking is "very" or "fairly" likely to damage health in the long term.
But there was still widespread ignorance about how much it was safe to drink.
Only 34% correctly identified that men are advised to drink no more than three to four units a day.
And only 41% knew the recommended daily limit for women was two to three units.
Many were also ignorant of how much alcohol their drinks contained.
About half knew the number of units in a pint of beer or a single measure of spirits, but only 15% knew there were eight to 10 in a bottle of wine. At the same time 51% of respondents said alcohol was the drug that causes most problems north of the border, more than double the 22% who think heroin is the most harmful.
Only 9% thought tobacco was the worst.
Public Health Minister Shona Robison said: "The survey results appear to show that many people still don't know how many units of alcohol their pint of beer or glass of wine contains - meaning they could well be drinking above recommended limits."
The Scottish Government has recently unveiled controversial plans to cut down on alcohol abuse including raising the purchase age for off-sales to 21 and introducing minimum prices to tackle cheap booze, a move backed by doctors but criticised by some opposition politicians, retail chiefs and students groups.
A poll by ICM on behalf of the Wine and Spirits Trade Association (WSTA) found that 66% of people thought it was unfair that people should be made to pay because of the behaviour of a minority in Scotland, while 75% said they thought it also wrong that alcohol should cost more in Scotland than England.
Jeremy Beadles, of the WSTA, said: "The SNP is punishing all consumers for the problems caused by a minority and voters know it."
The poll has been rubbished by the government, which claims it was "clearly worded to elicit responses which reflect the interests of the WSTA itself".
