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Alcohol

Health costs

  • Alcohol kills six people in Scotland every day.
  • You are twice as likely to die of an alcohol-related health problem in Scotland than in the rest of the UK.
  • The number of people diagnosed with alcoholic liver disease has increased by 52% since 1998.
  • Emergency departments in Scotland deal with over 70 alcohol-related assaults every day.
  • One in six deaths on Scotland’s roads is caused by drink driving.
  • Alcohol is a contributory factor in over half of deaths in fires in Scotland.
  • Alcohol-related problems are estimated to cost Scotland over £2 billion every day.
  • 1 in 2 women and 2 in 3 men exceed the recommended daily limits of alcohol consumption.

Alcohol is a potentially addictive, psychoactive substance which is linked to around 60 different diseases and conditions. For most conditions in which alcohol is a factor, there is a dose dependent relationship. That is, the more alcohol is consumed, the greater the risk of alcohol-related health harm.

There is no guaranteed safe level of alcohol consumption. Government guidelines recommend daily limits of alcohol consumption that carry a low risk of health damage.

For more information on the impact of alcohol on health, down SHAAP's factsheet Alcohol & Health.