Scotland’s ‘shameful’ alcohol deaths toll was laid bare yesterday after the number rose to a 15-year high.
Fatalities have increased for the fourth year in a row, despite the SNP’s minimum pricing policy coming into effect in 2018.
Figures published by the National Records of Scotland (NRS) showed 1,277 ‘alcohol-specific’ deaths were recorded last year – an average of more than three per day.
This is the highest number of deaths directly caused by misuse of alcohol in a single year in Scotland since 2008, when 1,316 were recorded.
Last night Scottish Tory health spokesman Dr Sandesh Gulhane said: ‘Alcohol deaths remain disgracefully high on the SNP’s watch and continue to be at their highest level in 15 years.
‘Behind these heartbreaking figures are 1,277 families across Scotland grieving the loss of a loved one due to alcohol, and my thoughts are with them.
‘The level of deaths is utterly horrifying and shameful for an SNP Government who insist they are progressive; it is our most deprived communities that continue to be hit the hardest by their failings.’
The figures were released ahead of Scotland’s minimum unit pricing increasing from 50p per unit to 65p per unit from September 30.
Dr Peter Rice, chairman of Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems – set up by the Medical Royal Colleges in Scotland – suggested that all 1,277 deaths, up by one from 2022, ’could have been prevented’.
Calling for greater action to tackle the problem by both the UK and Scottish Governments, he said: ‘Scotland’s approach to reducing alcohol harm has had success in reducing alcohol deaths in the past, including with the introduction of minimum unit price in 2018.
‘However, to be successful, policy needs to be sustained and progressive.
‘Lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic changed drinking patterns globally leading to an increase in harm and action needs to be stepped up to reverse this.
‘In the face of the ongoing public health emergency that 2023’s deaths represent, we need both the Scottish Government and the UK Government to take urgent action.’
Of the total number of deaths, 861 or 67 per cent were men.
Alcohol-specific deaths were found to be 4.5 times higher in the country’s most deprived areas than in the least deprived areas, with higher than average mortality rates in Glasgow, Inverclyde, North Lanarkshire, and Dundee.
The statistics show Scotland continues to have the highest alcohol death rates in the UK, with 22.7 deaths per 100,000 people last year – slightly up on the rate of 22.6 in 2022.
Phillipa Haxton of NRS said ‘alcohol-specific’ deaths had peaked in 2006 and generally fallen until 2012, when the rate started to rise again.
The number of deaths from alcohol has increased sharply across the UK since 2020, with repeated Covid lockdowns blamed.
Finance Secretary Shona Robison previously supported a rise in minimum pricing despite admitting it was not a ‘magic bullet’.
Last night Scottish Labour health spokesman Carol Mochan said: ‘Every single one of these deaths is a travesty and the scale of this crisis is a national scandal.
‘All alcohol and drug deaths are preventable and the number of lives being cut tragically short shames this SNP Government.’
Billy Henderson of the Abbeycare Group, which runs a specialist rehab service in Erskine, Renfrewshire, said: ‘It’s heartbreaking that three people are losing their lives every single day in Scotland specifically because of alcohol, and that the death toll is showing no sign of falling.
‘Our staff see first-hand the terrible impact that excessive alcohol consumption can cause, not just on people’s health but on their families, careers and wider relationships.’
Louise Stewart, a director at drugs and alcohol charity WithYou, suggested that money raised from minimum unit pricing should be directed towards alcohol support services.
She said: ‘The Scottish Government must pursue alcohol-specific deaths with much greater urgency, determination and innovation.
‘Minimum unit pricing is often held up as an example of forward-thinking policy-making because we were the first country in the world to introduce this measure.
‘But it could and should work much harder.’
Public Health Minister Jenni Minto said the Scottish Government had provided £112million to alcohol and drug partnerships for treatment and support this year.
She said: ‘My sympathy goes out to all those who have lost a loved one through alcohol.
‘The Scottish Government is determined to do all it can to reduce alcohol-related harm and we continue to treat it as an equal priority with drugs as a public health emergency.’