Scots drinking 38m fewer pints since ’09

Scottish alcohol consumption has dropped by 38 million pints since 2009, according to a recent NHS Health Scotland report.

Since peaking in 2009 alcohol sales in Scotland have declined by 9%, the equivalent of about nine million bottles of wine, three million bottles of spirits or 38 million pints of beer a year, as reported by the BBC. 

The drop in sales has been blamed not only on the recession, but on the scrapping of multi-buy deals. Despite this, alcohol sales remain 17% higher in Scotland than in England and Wales, boosted by strong sales in supermarkets and off-licences, particularly of cut-price spirits.

Alcohol-related deaths have also dropped by 35% since 2003, while there has been a 25% drop in alcohol related hospital admissions since 2007/08.

Despite this, the report noted that alcohol-related deaths were still 1.4 times higher than in 1981, while alcohol-related hospital admissions remain 1.4 times higher than 1991/92.

Clare Beeston, principal public health adviser at NHS Health Scotland, said: “Alcohol sales are falling in both Scotland and England and Wales, and it is likely that declining affordability of alcohol, due to the economic downturn across the whole of Great Britain in recent years, is responsible for some of these improvements. However, the ban on multi-buy promotions for alcohol and the increased number of people accessing specialist services are also likely to be contributing to the improvements seen in Scotland.”

Around 700 people are admitted to hospitals in Scotland each week due to alcohol.