Alcohol-specific deaths in Scotland rose to their highest level in more than a decade in 2020, amid warnings that the pandemic has undermined progress made with the country’s world-leading minimum unit-pricing policy. There were 1,190 alcohol-specific deaths in Scotland in 2020, an increase of 17% from 2019 and the highest number registered since 2008 when 1,316 people died, according to figures published by the National Records of Scotland (NRS). The tally of alcohol-specific, rather than alcohol-related, deaths excludes those only partially attributed to alcohol. “Scotland has made good progress in addressing the problems we have with alcohol by introducing policies like minimum unit-pricing which is showing promising results. Last year 71% of suicides were of men, with deprived areas of the country experiencing the highest rates.

Source: The Guardian August 17, 2021 11:36 UTC