Number of Scots drinking deaths 'more than twice official figures', claim charities

The number of deaths caused by drinking is more than twice the official figures, according to two leading alcohol charities. Shock figures released last week by National Records Scotland (NRS) show the numbers of fatalities linked to alcohol consumption in 2023 was the highest in 15 years with 1,277 victims.

Both Alcohol Focus Scotland and Scottish Families Affected by Alcohol and Drugs, however, believe last year’s death toll could be nearer the 3,000 mark. They say the official figures do not take into account people who are victims of violence, killed in road accidents, heart disease, commit suicide, or die from different cancers.

They say one in two male deaths from mouth and throat cancer are also alcohol-related and should be included in the overall figures. They point to figures released by Public Health Scotland for 2020, the most recent available, which estimated alcohol related deaths are at 2820.

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Nicola Merrin, policy and research manager at Alcohol Focus Scotland, said: “We know one in five male homicides are associated with alcohol or are contributory factors. One in eight female deaths from breast cancer in the 35 to 64 age group are caused by alcohol.

“Alcohol is also believed to be a contributory factor in one in five male suicides. If you include all of that, then the figures are more than double.”

Nicola said the Scottish Government needs to do more to address the rise in deaths. Justina Murray, CEO of ­Scottish Families Affected by Alcohol and Drugs, agrees that the true alcohol related death figures are more than twice the official version.

She added: “We are really undercounting the number of people who died from alcohol. Home drinking has rocketed. We saw that during the pandemic when people changed their drinking habits because they were working from home.”

Justina is also concerned by the lack of places people can go for help with their drinking. She said: “There have been cuts in specialist alcohol support services. If you have a serious problem with alcohol, you cannot be confident that you will get the support that you need.”

Scotland became the first country in the world to introduce minimum unit pricing (MUP) for alcohol in May 2018 in a bid to cut deaths from booze. Students are also turning their back on booze to concentrate on studying.

A survey of more than 1000 by discount company Student Beans across the UK, including Scotland, found that 50 per cent plan to give alcohol a miss at the various Fresher events this month to welcome them to their new universities. But the majority of Scotland’s universities this year have replaced it with a Welcome Week.

Many events are alcohol-free with sober ceilidhs, vegan picnics, trips to IKEA, board games and yoga. Kirsty MacInnes, head of student enquiries, advice and events at Glasgow Caledonian University, said: “Things are changing and students want different experiences that don’t necessarily revolve around alcohol.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said:“Alcohol-specific deaths statistics published by the National Records of Scotland measure deaths known to be a direct consequence of alcohol misuse, consistent with the recording of alcohol specific deaths across the UK. To tackle misuse, we have made a record £112 million available to Alcohol and Drug Partnerships.

"We are also shortly increasing the Minimum Unit Price of alcohol to 65p to increase the impact of the policy which evidence estimates has saved hundreds of lives, likely averted hundreds of alcohol-attributable hospital admissions and contributed to tackling health inequalities."

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