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In Focus: The Monthly AFS CEO Blog - May 2026

In the first of a new series of monthly CEO blogs, Carolyn Lochhead, chief executive of Alcohol Focus Scotland, shares her thoughts post-election on Alcohol Focus Scotland’s hopes for the new Parliament. 

 
For Scotland’s 129 MSPs, last week was likely an unforgettable week. After a long, hard campaign, they have been sworn into Parliament to represent their constituents. Half are brand new parliamentarians, and taking their seats for the first time will be a magical moment. MSPs will be returning to parliament with their constituents in mind - thinking about the people they met, the stories they heard, and how they can use their elected roles to change their lives for the better. 

But for at least fifty families in Scotland, this week will be unforgettable for all the wrong reasons. Because alcohol kills at least that number of people in Scotland every week. That includes those who lose their lives to liver disease, but also cancer, stroke, suicides and accidents. Every alcohol related death is preventable and leaves an unfillable gap in a family.  

Figures released this week showed that while alcohol related deaths are decreasing – extremely welcome news - Scotland still recorded higher rates of deaths than our neighbours in England and Wales, and significantly more than pre-pandemic levels. Here, alcohol- related deaths are still double what they were 30 years ago. So we need urgent action.  

The first weeks of parliament will be about parties finding their feet, and MSPs choosing the causes they want to champion. And we desperately hope they will choose to take action on alcohol harm. Almost all the parties recognised in their election manifestos that alcohol causes huge problems in Scotland and that we need to take action sooner rather than later.  We have yet to see how politics will play out with six different parties represented in parliament, but building support across the political spectrum is crucial.  It’s vital we build a consensus that Scotland’s alcohol harms need to be addressed – even if the political parties have different starting points.  

 Our own manifesto ‘No more half measures’ will be the basis of our campaigning over the coming years, as we try and change Scotland’s relationship with alcohol for the better. Alcohol Focus Scotland wants evidence-based policy changes to improve the lives of people in Scotland. A key priority for us will be protecting children and young people from exposure to alcohol marketing – something that makes them more likely to start drinking early and in greater quantities. We want to see new restrictions on alcohol marketing in shops, public spaces and sponsorship deals.  

For the fifty-plus families in Scotland who will lose someone to alcohol this week, it’s already too late. But for the one in five people in Scotland still drinking at levels that put their health at risk there is still time. We can prevent other families experiencing the devastation of losing someone to alcohol: and every MSP has a role to play.