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By Dr Chris Humphries, emergency medicine doctor and researcher, University of Edinburgh and NHS Lothian A new analysis of a year of emergency department attendances suggests that routine data captures only a fraction of alcohol’s real footprint in A&E, and points to how that might change. Anyone who has worked a night shift in an […]

International Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) Day takes place on the 9th day of the 9th month, reflecting the nine months of pregnancy during which babies can be at risk from alcohol exposure. As we approach International FASD Day 2026, which in some countries is being marked throughout the whole month of September, it seemed […]

Over the past few years, Community Alcohol Partnerships (or CAP) have become an increasingly prominent feature of alcohol harm reduction discussions in the UK. More than 350 local CAP schemes have now been established across the UK, with numbers growing rapidly in Scotland. When I began my PhD four years ago, there were just seven […]

By Professor Carol Emslie, Scottish Alcohol Research Network Co-Chair, Glasgow Caledonian University This blog post by Prof Carol Emslie reveals how little we know about how policies to reduce alcohol-related harm impact similarly or differently on men and women. The alcohol industry has women in its sights — and it’s getting more sophisticated by the […]

SHAAP Policy & Communications Officer, Lisa Davie, reflects on her first two months in the role, what she’s learned about alcohol marketing and industry influence, and what Scotland’s new Alcohol & Drugs Strategic Plan means for the road ahead. Just over two months ago, I joined SHAAP as Policy & Communications Officer. Before this, I’d […]

Introduction When I wrote my first SHAAP blog on residential rehabilitation (RR) in Scotland – five years ago – we were just starting a long‑overdue journey. At that time the data painted a grim picture: postcode lotteries, missing pathways, and stark access inequalities. Back then, to be sure of getting to RR, you had to […]

What a journey. Was it simple? No. Was it powerful? Absolutely. Cultivating Cultural Recovery Pathways for Black and Asian Communities in Scotland culminated in a session at the Royal College of Physicians, Edinburgh, on 12 November 2025—but its roots stretch back almost a year earlier. It began with an email from Chloé at Scottish Health […]

To celebrate Recovery Month, Jit shares his journey from addiction to recovery. His story is a powerful testament to resilience, cultural identity, and the role of community support, and offers vital insights into the importance of culturally informed approaches in addressing addiction within South Asian communities. I started drinking in my teenage years and continued […]

This information is shared by Dougie K, the Public Information (PI) Liaison Officer for Edinburgh and Midlothian, and a member of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) with over 30 years of continuous sobriety. His experience reflects the long-term recovery possible through the AA program. AA has been a vital, accessible, and self-sustaining pathway to recovery from alcohol […]