Alcohol deaths in Scotland reach highest level in 15 years

The number of alcohol-specific deaths in Scotland remains the highest since 2008, according to figures published today by National Records of Scotland (NRS).

In total, 1,277 deaths were attributed to alcohol-specific causes in 2023, an increase of one death from 2022.

Male deaths continue to account for around two thirds of the deaths, increasing by 25, while female deaths decreased by 24.

Phillipa Haxton, Head of Vital Events Statistics at NRS, said: “The rate of alcohol-specific deaths peaked in 2006 and then fell until 2012. Since then it has generally risen.

“Those aged 45-64 and 65-74 continue to have the highest mortality rates. If we look at the average age at death, that has risen over time. The mortality rates for those aged 65 to 74, and 75 and over, were at their highest since we began recording these figures in 1994. As the same time for age 25-44 the mortality rate has been fairly stable over the last decade.”

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Scotland continued to have the highest alcohol-specific death rate of the UK constituent countries in 2022 (the latest year for which comparable data exists).

However, the difference between Scotland and the other UK countries has narrowed over the last two decades.

In 2001, the alcohol-specific mortality rate for Scotland was between 2.1 and 2.9 times as high as other UK countries. The rate for Scotland was between 1.2 and 1.6 times as high in 2022.