(Image: PA)
Alcohol deaths in Scotland are now 16% higher than before the pandemic, prompting health campaigners to demand higher prices as part of tougher action to curb alcohol harm and stop drinks industry profits taking priority over saving lives.
A total of 1,185 alcohol-specific deaths were registered in Scotland in 2024, official analysis shows — 165 more than the 1,020 recorded in the pre-pandemic year of 2019.
The deaths include conditions wholly caused by alcohol, including alcoholic liver disease and alcohol poisoning. They do not include every death in which alcohol may have played a part, such as some cancers and cardiovascular diseases.
The Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems (SHAAP) has called on ministers to take more effective measures to reduce alcohol harm, including an alcohol duty escalator that would increase tax each year, while arguing that support for the drinks trade should be targeted at pubs and smaller producers rather than handed indiscriminately to the whole industry.
In a briefing seen by UK ministers, SHAAP said the Government had to confront the tension between the commercial interests of alcohol producers and the harm caused by their products.
“The alcohol industry resists regulation as it has a duty to protect its own sales and profits, but the role of government is to balance this with necessary measures to improve the health of the population,” the organisation said.
“At the end of the day the industry has a fiduciary duty to deliver profits for shareholders, and it is the role of government to regulate business practices to ensure harm to the public is minimised.”
The analysis distributed to MPs examine the future of Scotland’s whisky industry, including the effects of tariffs, international trade deals, domestic regulation and the support available to producers. Scotch whisky is one of the country’s best-known exports, and the industry’s economic contribution is central to a debate about how governments should support its future growth.
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But SHAAP argues that the export success of whisky should not prevent governments from taking action to reduce alcohol harm in Scotland. It says around 95% of Scotch whisky leaves the UK, meaning domestic measures designed to improve public health would have little impact on the sector’s exports.
The organisation also points out that people in Scotland drink substantially more beer, wine and vodka than whisky. Although whisky has a prominent place in the country’s identity and international reputation, SHAAP says the domestic market for Scotch is relatively small compared with its export market.
Public Health Scotland's wider estimates put the age-standardised rate of deaths from conditions partially attributable to alcohol at 32.7 per 100,000 people aged 16 and over in 2024, down 12% from 2023. Death rates from alcohol-related causes were 2.8 times higher in Scotland's most deprived areas than in its least deprived areas, according to the agency.
SHAAP argues that the social consequences of alcohol consumption must be considered alongside the economic benefits generated by the drinks trade. It cited an estimated annual cost of between £5bn and £10bn for alcohol harm in Scotland, a figure drawn from earlier research into the wider economic and social burden.
The estimate includes costs beyond spending on health services, taking account of the impact of alcohol harm on the economy and society. The group's call for an alcohol duty escalator, would see tax rise each year by inflation plus an additional amount. The policy was introduced by then Chancellor Alistair Darling in 2008, but was later scrapped, with subsequent years bringing freezes and cuts to alcohol duty.
Alistair Darling (Image: PA)
SHAAP cites research by the Institute of Alcohol Studies estimating that duty cuts and freezes between 2012 and 2019 led to 2,223 additional deaths and 66,000 extra hospital admissions in England and Scotland. Those figures are modelled estimates, rather than a count of deaths individually attributed to changes in tax.
The organisation says the current system remains too favourable to alcohol when compared with the rising cost of other everyday goods. Its submission states that spirits duty was 26% lower in real terms in 2025 than in 2013-14, despite the health risks associated with alcohol consumption.
SHAAP argues that raising duty on stronger, cheaper drinks would be a more effective way to reduce harm, while support could be directed towards businesses that contribute to local economies without encouraging higher alcohol consumption. It specifically points to schemes supporting smaller producers and pubs, rather than measures that benefit the entire drinks market, including large supermarket and online retailers.
“The alcohol industry adapts quickly and easily to regulatory divergence across Europe and internationally,” the organisation said.
“Given the evidence that the stronger, cheaper alcoholic drinks are the ones that cause the most harm in Scotland and the UK, a duty system which reflects that is better for public health.”
The briefing also says Scotland’s minimum unit pricing policy, which sets a minimum price for each unit of alcohol, was associated with 13.4% fewer deaths wholly attributable to alcohol than would otherwise have been expected over its first 32 months, according to an independent evaluation published in 2023 by The Lancet. That demonstrated, SHAAP argues, that measures to reduce harmful drinking can deliver public health benefits without undermining the whisky export trade.
The group argues that the industry’s response to regulation must be considered in the context of its wider business interests. It points to multinational companies that own whisky brands as well as beer, wine, vodka and other products sold in Scotland, where cheaper alcohol bought for consumption at home accounts for a substantial share of alcohol harm.
Alcohol-related deaths have been on the rise since before the pandemic (Image: PA)
SHAAP also argues that restrictions on marketing, clearer health warnings and other measures could help reduce harm without damaging Scotland’s hospitality and tourism sectors. It says the industry has already adapted to different rules in other countries, including restrictions on alcohol advertising and sponsorship, and that differing regulations need not prevent businesses from trading internationally.
The Scotch Whisky Association estimates that the industry supports 41,000 jobs in Scotland. But SHAAP argues that whisky is a relatively modest direct employer.
It argues that government should not treat the interests of large drinks companies as interchangeable with those of pubs, independent producers or the wider public.
The group says the challenge for ministers is to protect the benefits the whisky industry brings to Scotland while ensuring that the cost of alcohol harm is not borne disproportionately by families, poorer communities and public services.
Alcohol and drugs minister Maree Todd said: v“We are making progress in tackling alcohol harms, by working closely with local Alcohol and Drugs Partnerships and other stakeholders to provide targeted, person-centred support, backed by record levels of funding of over £160 million this year.
“Public Health Scotland estimated that minimum unit pricing saved hundreds of lives in the years it was evaluated. We are building on the positive impacts of this policy, and will publish a new Alcohol Harm Prevention plan in the coming months.
“Scotland’s food and drink industry is a major contributor to its economy with a £19 billion turnover. The UK Government has an opportunity to support Scotch Whisky producers with a fair, balanced, and stable duty system which support jobs, investment and tourism across Scotland.”