Dr Alastair MacGilchrist OBE, SHAAP Chair, commented:
“We are pleased to see alcohol deaths in Scotland fall for a second year, with 1,152 people dying from alcohol-specific causes in 2025, down from 1,185 in 2024. Any reduction is welcome, and shows that the right policies can make a difference.
“But it is deeply concerning that while deaths among men have fallen, deaths among women have risen. This comes after years in which the alcohol industry has made a targeted effort to encourage more women to drink, from products and packaging designed to appeal to women to marketing that links alcohol with wellbeing, celebration and empowerment.
“We must also remember that alcohol deaths rose sharply during the pandemic and have been slow to come down. Despite this year’s fall, deaths remain higher than they were before COVID, and people living in Scotland’s most deprived areas are now 4.8 times more likely to die from alcohol than those in the least deprived. That is not a situation we can accept as the new normal. It is a reason to act.
“Every one of these 1,152 deaths was preventable. The Scottish Government must bring forward its long promised restrictions on alcohol marketing, make sure treatment and support services are funded to meet the scale of need, including services that work for women, and keep Minimum Unit Pricing at least in line with inflation. A falling number must not become a reason for complacency.”
Ends.
For further information or comment contact Lisa Davie, Policy & Communications Officer at SHAAP, on l.davie@rcpe.ac.uk
Notes to Editors:
Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems (SHAAP) is a partnership of the Medical Royal Colleges and the Faculty of Public Health in Scotland and is based at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (RCPE).
Using the best available evidence, SHAAP provides the authoritative clinical voice on how policy makers and clinicians can reduce alcohol-related harms in Scotland.
National Records of Scotland has today published data on alcohol-specific deaths in Scotland in 2025: Alcohol-specific deaths fall 3% – National Records of Scotland (NRS)