Two reports published by NHS Health Scotland today show the extent of cheap alcohol sales in Scotland.
An updated report on alcohol sales over the five years 2005-09 confirms that adults in Scotland buy on average 24% more alcohol than the rest of Britain - that's roughly equivalent to two pints of beer or two 175ml glasses of wine extra per person per week - and the gap has continued to widen.
It also shows that the average price of alcohol is £1.31 per unit in bars, pubs, clubs, restaurants and hotels which account for 32% of all drink sold, but only 43p per unit in the off-trade, which accounts for 68% of sales.
The second report, looking in detail at off-sales prices, reveals just how much cheap alcohol is sold in Scotland.

The July edition of Alcohol Focus Scotland's In Focus Magazine is now available to read or download online. This edition features:

In his first speech on Public Health, Health Secretary Andrew Lansley spoke at the UK Faculty of Public Health's annual conference this morning on his vision for a new service. His plans for a healthy nation focuses on behavioural changes "and which goes beyond constraining the supply of illegal drugs, alcohol and tobacco, and begins to understand and influence the drivers of demand." The framework of empowerment includes:

Briefing paper for MSPs re Alcohol etc (Scotland) Bill debate June 2010

Crack down on Drink and Drug Driving

Majority of MSPs voted in favour of the general principles which allows the Bill to proceed to Stage 2.

Alcohol has played a major role in 14 murders in the past 10 weeks with cheap vodka and house parties largely to blame. Strathclyde Police Chief Constable Stephen House warned that he expected the abnormally high level of drink-fuelled violence to escalate during the World Cup.

Alcohol use disorders: preventing the development of hazardous & harmful drinking.

Web link:

Retired Chief Executive of Alcohol Focus Scotland, Jack Law, will be enjoying retirement by cycling nearly 1,000 miles from Lands End to John O Groats.Jack and his friend Charlie Woods will set off on Sunday 23rd May and expect to take under a month to complete the challenging task.

National Licensing Conference 2010
Review & Pre-view

Updated 24th May 2010

Alcohol Focus Scotland is offering its 1st floor training suite to its members for training, meetings and presentations. Our offices are located in the heart of Buchanan Street, one of the main shopping thoroughfares in Glasgow, the largest city in Scotland.
For more information, call 0141 572 6700 or download this information sheet

Holyrood's Alcohol in Scotland: Changing our drinking culture conference will be taking place on Tuesday 18th May at the Grosvenor Hotel in Edinburgh. For full details and to register online, please go to www.holyrood.com/alcohol

A youth panel is to call on the Government to ban alcohol advertisements from public places in a bid to "change Scotland's culture of alcohol misuse". Scotland's first Youth Commission on Alcohol will make the recommendations to Public Health Minister Shona Robison after a year-long investigation into alcohol abuse.

Representatives will also recommend increasing alcohol education within the school curriculum, carrying out more research into the impact of passive drinking and providing leisure activities for children that don't involve drinking. They will also call for widespread participation of young people in policy and decision-making.

The findings will be formally handed to the minister on Tuesday and will be considered as part of the Scottish Government's Framework for Action on Alcohol.
The Youth Commission is made up by a panel of 16 people aged between 14 and 22 from across Scotland to find new solutions to the country's drinking culture. It was commissioned by the Scottish Government and supported by Young Scot and launched in March last year. The report contains 38 recommendations based around eight key ideas: accessibility and availability, changing culture through leisure and lifestyle choices, education, and emotional support for young people, personal safety, regulating alcohol industry marketing and promotion, social marketing and young people influencing treatment services. Youth Commissioner Ryan Leitch said: "It was fantastic being involved with the Youth Commission on Alcohol. It's great that young people have been given this opportunity to have their voice heard at the upper levels of government; hopefully there will be lots more commissions like this. "We based our recommendations on the evidence we received from alcohol experts and the Scottish people.

There isn't one answer so we have come up with a number of key approaches to improve Scotland's relationship with alcohol."

The National Youth Alcohol Commission report is available below:

Alcohol Focus Scotland in partnership with The Scottish Centre for Healthy Working Lives are offering free training and support for managers on dealing with alcohol and drugs issues in the workplace.

DrinkWise are now taking bookings for our Spring Workshops.

The recommendations of the government established Advisory Group were launched at a conference held on the 8th of February by Nicola Sturgeon, Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing.
Speaking at the conference she said she felt the recommendations for Effective Services in Substance Misuse and Homelessness in Scotland had identified some key issues.
She said that government was in agreement with the thinking and had already taking steps to better bring together Substance Misuse and Homelessness at Ministerial level.
Ms Sturgeon also outlined that the Scottish Government in partnership with COSLA has set up a 2012 Steering Group to help achieve its target on homelessness.
There are 12 recommendations. Key points include calls for

Since launching our online forum, there has been over 18,000 visitors looking at various alcohol topics. Get involved today by signing up to our secure online forum and voice your own opinion on minimum pricing, product placement, the drink-drive limit, alcohol sponsorship and many other alcohol topics.

promoting Children's Health through Alcohol Misuse Prevention.

The Scottish Government has introduced an Alcohol etc. (Scotland) Bill that will tackle drink-fuelled violence and health problems.

Tennant's backs alcohol price bid

A new study shows the impact of alcohol misuse on families, public services and the economy

Alcohol Focus Scotland is offering FREE training sessions to all Local Licensing Forum Members in February 2010. Dates for your diary are:

The festive season is upon us once again with many of us already begun buying gifts and planning Christmas dinner. Businesses also plan ahead with many taking on extra staff at this time of year to prepare for Christmas. For the majority of Licensed Premises, Christmas is their busiest time of the year and this year will be no different than previous years. Except this will be the first Christmas period that ALL staff - including temporary, part time and casual - will have to complete training before serving or selling alcohol.

The debate on minimum pricing for alcohol has become increasingly polarised. Some believe that the rising burden of harm due to alcohol demands effective government intervention and others believe that concern for Scotland's health is not sufficient grounds for curbing market freedoms that have enabled unprecedented growth in the production, trade and promotion of alcohol.

Alcohol Focus Scotland's AGM today will be followed by a seminar - "The Best Start in Life - Alcohol Focus Scotland's support for the national Early Years Framework".

Alcohol Focus Scotland's Gender Issues Network on Alcohol (GINA) project will tomorrow launch "Alcohol & Ageing:The Views of Older Women and Carers".

Today Public Health Minister Shona Robison and sports stars including Scott Russell and Mike McGregor from Glasgow Rocks basketball team kicked off Scotland's third Alcohol Awareness Week (4th - 10th October) with a larger-than-life game of skittles in George Square, Glasgow.

Minimum pricing for alcohol and a ban on off-sales promotions would save hundreds of lives every year, according to research commissioned by the Scottish Government and carried out by experts at Sheffield University.

New figures show the high death toll from alcohol in health boards and constituencies across Scotland and expose the scale of Scotland's alcohol problem compared to the rest of the UK.

Christopher Russell, a PhD. Psychology student at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland is researching addiction treatment providers' beliefs about addiction and their spiritual beliefs and would be grateful if you could spare 10 minutes to answer some questions at the web link below.

Alcohol Focus Scotland's annual National Licensing Conference takes place this Wednesday and Thursday in Aviemore.

In a bid to tackle the soaring cost of alcohol-related harm in Scotland, particularly among young people, the BMA is calling for a total ban on alcohol advertising, including sports events and music festival sponsorship.

The changes introduced by the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005 come fully into force today, September 1, 2009.

Pubs and shops in Blackburn are working alongside Community Action - Blackburn, West Lothian Council and the Local Licensing Forum to help reduce the incidence of underage drinking. They will require those who appear to be under the age of 21 to produce proof of age identification and will also be more vigilant to the problem surrounding adults purchasing alcohol on behalf of those under age. The Licensing Standards Officer has provided training to members of staff within all local licensed premises and they will also receive support from the Local Licensing Forum and Lothian & Borders Police.

The groundbreaking Youth Commission on Alcohol, run by Young Scot and in conjunction with the Scottish Government, is appealing to the Scottish public for evidence to assist its year-long study into Scotland's relationship with alcohol.

A report published today outlines the extent to which services for people with alcohol problems in Scotland currently meet the level of need for treatment.

Coming your way!

Alcohol Focus Scotland, SHAAP and BMA Scotland are continuing to work together to campaign for the introduction of a minimum price per unit for alcoholic drinks.

In response to BrewDog's launch of the UK's strongest beer, Alcohol Focus Scotland's Chief Executive Jack Law said:

New research shows alcohol-related illnesses could be killing one in 20 Scots - twice as many as previously thought.

Key facts concerning alcohol consumption by children and young people, published in the Scottish Schools Adolescent Lifestyle and Substance Use Survey (SALSUS) today are:

Alcohol Focus Scotland is pleased to announce we have become an approved ILA (Individual Learning Account) Scotland learning provider.

Alcohol Focus Scotland Chief Executive, Jack Law, is calling for the introduction of a minimum price per unit of alcohol to stem the rise in alcohol-related health and social harm.

Alcohol Focus Scotland and Depression Alliance Scotland have worked together to produce an 'Alcohol and Depression' factsheet. This covers the links between alcohol, mood and depression, signs that someone has an alcohol problem, signs of depression, mixing medication and alcohol, tips for feeling better, and where to get support.

Scotland's health boards have received 36 million pounds this year to tackle alcohol misuse - a jump in spending of 45 per cent.

The April 09 issue of Alcohol Focus Scotland's newsletter, In Focus, is out now.

Alcohol & Drug Partnerships (ADPs) are to be set up for every local council area to transform the provision of services to tackle substance misuse.

Audit Scotland has published a review of drug and alcohol services in Scotland which shows that three times more money was spent treating drug abuse than alcohol-related problems, despite alcohol claiming far more lives.

It's disingenuous and misleading for the leaders of the alcohol industry to suggest that the issue of minimum pricing will not be properly debated and scrutinised if put through on existing licensing legislation and regulation.

The Scottish Network of Alcohol Practitioners for the Young (SNAPY) will be launched at a conference in Edinburgh today (3 March 2009). SNAPY is a three year project bringing together professionals who work with children affected by their own or someone else's drinking to share good practice, skills and resources.

The Scottish Government today published its framework for tackling Scotland's £2.25 billion alcohol misuse problem.

Industry sales figures suggest Scotland has the eighth highest alcohol consumption level in the world.

The Scottish Government and Alcohol Industry Partnership has published new guidelines which identify best practice for alcohol brand sponsorships in Scotland.

Around 1500 West Lothian primary school children are set to take part in an innovative pilot project, developed by Alcohol Focus Scotland, aimed at addressing the harm caused to children as a result of parental alcohol misuse.

A national press advertising campaign has been launched today to appeal for consumer complaints about irresponsible drinks producer marketing.

Alcohol Focus Scotland welcomed the increase in duty on spirits announced by the Chancellor and now calls for a clear explanation of the effect of the new proposals across all alcoholic drinks.

Alcohol Focus Scotland has launched a new online support service - AFS Alcohol Support Online - for people in Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire concerned about their own or someone else's drinking.

As more research is published about drinking alcohol during pregnancy, Alcohol Focus Scotland launches a new campaign - 'Alcohol and pregnancy don't mix'.

How much will alcohol affect your life, your friends, your work and your self respect? It's up to you. Tonight you decide. Check out this short film...

People in Scotland are being urged to try lower alcohol beer, pour smaller glasses and choose at least two alcohol-free days every week, as part of Alcohol Awareness Week (October 5 - 11, 2008).

This year's Alcohol Awareness Week will run from 5-11 October. The message is that making small changes to the way you drink can make a big difference to how you feel the next day and to your long-term health.

This year's national licensing conference, held at the MacDonald Aviemore Highland Resort, was a great success, with 194 people attending.

Alcohol Focus Scotland has responded to the Scottish Government's consultation - Changing Scotland's relationship with alcohol.

The national licensing conference, organised by Alcohol Focus Scotland, takes place today and tomorrow in Aviemore.

Many Scots remain ignorant of how much it is safe to drink or how much alcohol drinks contain, the Scottish Social Attitudes Survey has suggested.

Dear Editor

The Greater Easterhouse Alcohol Awareness Project's Befriending service has secured five years funding, worth £448,000 from the Big Lottery Fund.

In response to the launch of the Scottish Government's alcohol consultation, Jack Law, chief executive of Alcohol Focus Scotland, said:

This is widely acknowledged as the key licensing event of its kind with the widest representation across the licensing field including Licensing Board Members and officials, Police, Licensing Standards Officers, Licensing Forum Members, Alcohol Action Team Members and others interested in licensing.

When we hear about alcohol misuse most of us immediately picture alcohol fuelled anti-social behaviour; drunkenness in our town centres; or underagers hanging about in parks or on street corners with bottles. Or we might think about people who need liver transplants after years and years of heavy drinking. It's certainly not about you or me!

Record funding of 25 million pounds for tackling alcohol misuse was today announced by Minister for Public Health Shona Robison.

Alcohol Focus Scotland welcomes the increase in duty on beers, wines, ciders and spirits announced by the Chancellor today.