Scottish Families Affected by Alcohol and Drugs (SFAD) is calling for urgent and immediate action to change Scotland’s ‘Alcohol Everywhere’ culture, as latest figures show 1,276 people in Scotland lost their lives to alcohol in 2022.

The charity says the Scottish government has made bold commitments to act on alcohol availability, price, marketing and access to treatment, but that there has been little action since the introduction of Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP) in 2018.

Figures released today show 31 more people died from alcohol related causes in 2022 than the year before.

It comes as recent analysis by Alcohol Focus Scotland reveals that access to specialist alcohol treatment in Scotland has declined by 40% in the last decade.

The charity says the number of people commencing specialist alcohol treatment dropped from a peak of 32,556 in 2013/14 to just 19,617 last year, as a result of significant cuts to local Alcohol and Drug Partnerships budgets.

Alcohol-specific deaths are now at the highest level since 2008.

The Scottish government has today said it will work closely with ADPs and the third sector to address what it calls a ‘public health priority’, backed by £113m to support local and national initiatives.

More than 11,000 people in Scotland have died due to alcohol in the past decade – well in excess of Scotland’s drug death toll – but Scottish Families say there has been nowhere near the same emergency response.

The charity is calling for MUP to be uprated to 65p, with future uprating built in.

Scottish Families also wants to see clear action from government on alcohol availability and marketing, to ensure Alcohol Free Spaces are the norm across Scotland.

A consultation on alcohol marketing which closed almost six months ago proposes restricting alcohol advertisements in sports, public spaces, on television and radio, and in-stores.

Public Health Minister Maree Todd told MSPs restricting alcohol advertising and promotion is a crucial element in changing Scotland’s ‘troubled relationship’ with alcohol’, however the consultation is yet to result in further action.

Justina Murray, CEO of Scottish Families, says there is an enormous gap between Scotland’s bold intent to save families from alcohol deaths heartbreak and the daily reality of lives destroyed by alcohol:

“In Scotland we are absolutely world-leading at writing down all the things we are going to change and improve to tackle Scotland’s deathly relationship with alcohol. But we are bottom of the league tables for action.

“We need urgent and immediate action – not more words – to change Scotland’s Alcohol Everywhere culture, and to make sure everyone concerned about their drinking can get the treatment and support they need.

“Alcohol deaths are easy to prevent – the World Health Organisation has identified three ‘best buys’ for governments in terms of alcohol availability, price and marketing. Alongside investment in good quality alcohol treatment and support, this will save millions of pounds in social, economic, health and human costs.

“Our families deserve nothing less.”

In a statement, Scotland’s Drugs and Alcohol Policy Minister Elena Whitham says the Scottish government is committed to finding new approaches to ensure anyone with problematic alcohol use receives the right treatment and support:

“While we will need to better understand the reasons for this increase in deaths, I will do all I can to reduce alcohol-related harm.

“We will address the unique challenges women face when accessing treatment, support and recovery, including stigma, while recognising that men still remain at the highest risk of death.

“We are also working to ensure that people continue to receive the same quality of care as those with problematic drug use. We are supporting a review and update to clinical guidelines for alcohol treatment which will introduce new approaches in a broad range of settings including hospitals.”

 

Read more: Analysis: drugs and alcohol in Scottish health survey;  “Shocking” drop in access to alcohol treatment; Plea to hear the voices of drug death families

 

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