THE number of deaths caused by alcohol each year remains worryingly high – but Dumfries and Galloway fares better than most other places in Scotland.
In 2023, 1277 people in Scotland lost their lives due to alcohol-specific causes, according to the Office for National Statistics. These are deaths where health conditions are a direct consequence of alcohol, such as alcoholic liver disease.
Separate figures show that in the five years to 2023, 140 people in Dumfries and Galloway lost their lives to alcohol-specific causes.
That’s a rate of 17 deaths for every 100,000 of the population, which is the ninth-lowest rate of 33 council areas in Scotland.
It’s also half the rate of Inverclyde, where there’s an alcoholic death rate of 34 deaths per 100,000 of the population, the highest in Scotland.
Lee Fernandes, lead therapist at alcohol addiction experts The UKAT Group, said: “People should not lose their lives because of alcohol, it is as simple as that.
“This legal yet incredibly addictive substance is harming our country in so many ways it’s becoming difficult to see a future where alcohol doesn’t negatively touch every generation at some stage.
“We’re urging the government to reconsider a standalone National Alcohol Strategy; we haven’t had one since 2012 and quite frankly, a lot has changed in the past 13 years.
“It’s time to recognise that alcohol misuse is a genuine problem, one that needs a solution or more people will die.”
Experts have called for measures such as minimum unit pricing, health warnings on labels, and tighter advertising regulations to tackle this “national crisis”.
Professor Sir Ian Gilmore, chairman of the Alcohol Health Alliance, said: “It is unacceptable that year after year, we continue to see alcohol deaths rise while action from government remains woefully inadequate.
“The drivers of this crisis are well known – cheap, easily accessible alcohol and aggressive marketing that normalises excessive drinking – as are the solutions proven to reduce harm.
“Measures such as minimum unit pricing, improved advertising regulations, mandatory health warnings on labels, and better investment in alcohol treatment services must be implemented across all UK nations without delay”
