News
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- No place for alcohol marketing in sport
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- Scotland publishes first UK guidelines for diagnosing fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD)
- The Alcohol Framework 2018 Preventing Harm
- Scotlands new drug and alcohol strategy launched
- AFS welcome new alcohol strategy
- Recent reporting on alcohol sales data
- Cross-Party Group Improving Scotland's health: 2021 and beyond October 2018
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- Drinks companies keeping consumers in dark about risky drinking
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- AFS welcomes minimum unit pricing for alcohol
- Walker's crisp ad exposes children to alcohol marketing
- Truer picture of alcohol harm revealed
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- Alcohol causes 3,700 deaths in Scotland every year
- Last Christmas for heavily discounted alcohol
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- Minimum pricing blog
- Minimum pricing gets green light
- Reflections on GAPC 2017
- Alcohol brands and young people
- Time for honest conversations about alcohol
- Q&A on alcohol marketing
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- Quarter of Scots drink above guidelines
- Alcohol producers failing to inform public
- Concern over alcohol-related deaths
- We need to make it easier for people to drink less
- Worrying rise in alcohol-related deaths
- Minimum pricing will save lives
- Pocket money prices for alcohol continue
- Scotland's alcohol problem laid bare
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- One drink a day can increase breast cancer risk
- Poverty linked to increased harm from alcohol
- What next for reducing alcohol harm in Scotland?
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- Concern as funding for alcohol services cut
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- Scottish Government urged to curb alcohol marketing
- Consumers have the right to know health risks
- Chancellor urged to tackle cheap, strong cider in Budget
- Online help for families affected by alcohol
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- SWA granted leave to appeal minimum pricing
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- Scottish Greens call for action on alcohol marketing
- Scottish Government receives European alcohol award
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- Half of alcohol being sold under 50p per unit
- SWA urged to respect minimum pricing decision
- Alcohol and mental health are closely linked
- Minimum pricing can be implemented in Scotland
- Alcohol sold at pocket money prices
- Scotland has so much to gain from reducing how much we drink
- AFS welcomes revised alcohol consumption guidelines
- Emergency services face shocking levels of alcohol abuse
- Every child has the right to grow up safe from alcohol harm
- Public health must prevail over big business
- New toolkit to help children affected by family alcohol problems
- Price check reveals cheap cost of strong alcohol
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- AFS calls for compulsory health warnings on alcoholic drinks
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- New resource for people concerned about alcohol in their community
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- New alcohol guidelines published
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- 82% of Scots agree drink driving is unacceptable
- Scotland's alcohol strategy - what next?
- Scotland leads way in evidence-based alcohol policy
- New report reveals impact of alcohol on emergency services
- Alcohol: a global concern
Concern over alcohol-related deaths
Alcohol Focus Scotland, BMA Scotland, Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems (SHAAP) and Scottish Families Affected by Alcohol and Drugs have written to Shona Robison MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport, and Aileen Campbell MSP, Minister for Public Health and Sport.
In the letter we express our concern over the latest alcohol-related death figures which show that 1,265 Scots lost their lives to alcohol last year; a 10% increase on the previous year and the highest figure since 2010. This is significantly higher than the equally tragic 867 drug deaths in 2016, as published earlier this week. Together alcohol and drugs caused over 2,000 deaths in Scotland last year – deaths which are entirely preventable.
While there are likely to be many reasons behind these increases, not least the fact that minimum unit pricing is still not in place, the recent cut in direct funding to local Alcohol and Drug Partnerships (ADPs) has surely played a part.
We urge the Scottish Government to re-commit its efforts and resources over the longer term to support evidence-based policies that will save Scottish lives. The joint report which we published earlier this year contains a comprehensive set of policies aimed at changing Scotland’s damaging relationship with alcohol and addressing the associated health inequalities.
We seek your reassurance that the scope of the alcohol strategy ‘refresh’ will be proportionate to the scale of the problem facing Scotland.