Government must tackle Scotland's love affair with the bottle - Brown
February 22, 2009 2:00 PM
Originally published by Scottish Liberal Democrats
Originally published by Scottish Liberal Democrats
Liberal Democrat Justice spokesperson and MSP for Glasgow Robert Brown has urged the Scottish Government to make tackling Scotland's drinking culture a key priority.
A report published today (Sunday) by Glasgow University and the Medical
Research Council shows that alcohol is killing 1,500 Scots a year, with
most of the areas with very high alcohol-related deaths in the Greater
Glasgow region.
Robert Brown MSPFigures published this weekend show that Scotland has the eighth highest level of alcohol consumption in the world and that 50 million litres of pure alcohol were drunk in 2007, the equivalent of almost 12 litres for everyone over 16.
Commenting, Mr Brown said:
"People in Scotland consume an astonishing amount of alcohol and this
report shows that we pay a heavy price for our drinking culture.
"Although alcohol related deaths are most common in Glasgow, this problem affects people across the country. There is a bombshell
waiting to happen as Scots in their thirties, forties and fifties store up health problems related to excessive drinking.
"Tackling our love affair with the bottle is not going to be easy, but it has to be a priority.
"Instead of wasting time with gimmicks like raising the drinking age, the SNP should be focused on enforcing current alcohol laws and stopping the next generation falling into the same trap."
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