On 24th June, Public Health Scotland (PHS) published a briefing, which presents key trends in alcohol retail sales and wholly attributable alcohol in Scotland, using data from the Alcohol Consumption and Harms Dashboard.
The dashboard presents data and evidence around key trends in alcohol consumption and alcohol-related health and social harms, updated as data become available. Local reports showing indicators by health board or local authority can be downloaded from the dashboard, where data are available. This briefing accompanies the latest updates to the dashboard, which include alcohol retail sales estimates, wholly attributable alcohol hospital and deaths statistics, crime and justice indicators, and self-reported consumption indicators. Read the full briefing here: Alcohol consumption and harms dashboard: update briefing
Source: Alcohol consumption and harms dashboard: update briefing
SHAAP Chair Dr Alastair MacGilchrist commented on the publication:
“Today’s PHS report combines previously released data on alcohol deaths and hospital admissions with new information on consumption from estimated retail sales.
“It is alcohol consumption which drives the damage done to health. The proportion of adults who do not drink has increased to 20% of the population, which is of course welcome news, but the 80% who do drink are drinking too much, with the average weekly consumption of 21 units being 50% over the recommended safer level of 14 units per week. It is therefore not surprising that the figures on alcohol deaths tell an all-too-familiar story.
“In 2023, 1,277 people died directly due to alcohol, the highest level since 2008. While this conveys the scale of harm caused by alcohol in Scotland, they do not tell the whole story as they only include those deaths which are solely the result of alcohol. Taking account of the many other conditions where alcohol plays a role, such as a range of cancers and stroke, the true death toll is several times higher.
“The health burden of alcohol is not shared equally. People living in the most deprived areas are 6 times more likely to die or be admitted to hospital due to alcohol than people in the least deprived areas, making alcohol one of the biggest contributors to the shameful widening of health inequalities in our country.
“The best way to reduce harm is to reduce consumption using proven population-level measures. We urge the Scottish Government to uprate minimum unit price regularly to maintain its efficacy and to act to restrict the marketing and availability of alcohol.”