According to a recent BBC report the adults in Scotland are drinking the equivalent of 46 bottles of vodka each in a year based on a study conducted by the NHS Health Scotland.
It said sales for the year to September 2009 averaged 12.2 litres of pure alcohol per person over the age of 18.
The Scottish government said the figure, which had remained static since 2005, was the equivalent of 537 pints or 130 bottles of wine per person.
The new figures come as the Scottish government is pushing for a minimum price for alcohol to tackle the country's drink-related problems.
So, in total, 50.5 million litres of pure alcohol were sold in Scotland last year, enough for every drinker over the age of 18 to exceed the weekly consumption guidelines.
People in Scotland drank 25% more alcohol per head of population than individuals in England and Wales, the figures had suggested.
(In England and Wales, the total for the same period was 9.7 litres per person)
Average weekly sales for Scottish drinkers were 26.5 units per person over the age of 18, equivalent to about 11 pints of beer or three bottles of wine.
In England and Wales, the figure was 21.8, slightly higher than the recommended weekly maximum for a man.
Scottish Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon said it was time for critics of minimum pricing to "wake up" to the scale of Scotland's drink problem.
She added: "All the evidence tells us that the big rise in Scottish alcohol consumption in recent decades is closely linked with the 70% drop in alcohol's relative cost.
"As a consequence, our country now faces an unprecedented burden from alcohol-related health problems, crime and lost economic productivity, which runs into billions and which we are all paying for.
"Currently there is nothing to stop supermarkets selling alcohol more cheaply than bottled water and that's why it's possible to exceed the weekly drinking guidelines for a man for less than £3.50."
Labour health spokeswoman Jackie Baillie MSP said: "I believe that alcohol abuse is the most important public health issue we face in Scotland today.
And the quotes go on. I am staggered by this actually, that is a heaping load of alcohol divided by a relatively small population. Is this really as bad as it sounds?
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I have to admit this is a copy/paste direct from a thread on another site.
perhaps the drinking problem could be changed to some degree by a tax on alchohol for those under 30. over 30 the tax would drop alot. at age 60 it would be eliminated. this would also require of course that purchasers show i.d. and that liquour dispensers be fined heavily for not checking i.d. or collecting the tax.
the idea behind this is to change the generational consumption over time. also, i think it is mostly younger people under thirty who commit most of the vandalism and crime and are most likely to be the most widely unemployed.
alcohol that is not locally produced in britain should also be taxed extra so that what is drunk is at least providing jobs in britain.
and yes, i can believe that so much alcohol is being drunk. it can be a cold and bitter day in aberdeen in the middle of january and a stop into crawford's for a doughnut and coffee or tea isn't as good as two shots of something stronger.
Originally posted by reinfeldPeople under the influence, when typing, can't generally be bothered to use 'Caps Lock!' 😀😀
perhaps the drinking problem could be changed to some degree by a tax on alchohol for those under 30. over 30 the tax would drop alot. at age 60 it would be eliminated. this would also require of course that purchasers show i.d. and that liquour dispensers be fined heavily for not checking i.d. or collecting the tax.
the idea behind this is to change ...[text shortened]... crawford's for a doughnut and coffee or tea isn't as good as two shots of something stronger.
Originally posted by reinfeld"Mam, will you go to the shop for me please?"
perhaps the drinking problem could be changed to some degree by a tax on alchohol for those under 30. over 30 the tax would drop alot. at age 60 it would be eliminated. this would also require of course that purchasers show i.d. and that liquour dispensers be fined heavily for not checking i.d. or collecting the tax.
the idea behind this is to change ...[text shortened]... crawford's for a doughnut and coffee or tea isn't as good as two shots of something stronger.
🙂
Originally posted by reinfeldI personally object to be being taxed to the hilt on all my lifestyle choices. If alcohol is so damaging, which it is, then perhaps the government should assign a substance classification to it and ban it's use for recreational purposes along with tobacco. Oops wait, who would pay for the NHS and educational system then?
yes, and gram should be locked up. there will always be some flagrant abuse of the law but that is not a reason not to implement and enforce good law.
Edit: While the government are lumping all this extra cost on beverages, perhaps they could consider hiking VAT on greasy foods, salt and chocolate, to promote healthy diets.
I think education from an early about the dangers of alcohol might be a better idea. I remember being taught of the dangers of drugs at school, smoking too, but don't recall ever being advised on alcohol consumption.
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Originally posted by huckleberryhoundI'm thinking, based on this stat, that they (the NHS Health Scotland) had had too much whiskey and mistook , either Finland, Latvia or Russia for their homeland.
[b]According to a recent BBC report the adults in Scotland are drinking the equivalent of 46 bottles of vodka each in a year based on a study conducted by the NHS Health Scotland.
Originally posted by reinfeldHaven't prohibition laws already been tried, tested and failed miserably in the United States? What would you do differently from this to make it work?
if i could make the laws in all the english speaking nations i would not allow anyone to vote or drink alcohol until the age of 30. no exceptions.
Originally posted by huckleberryhoundAlcohol abuse is a ticking bomb; young people drink it like it's Ribena! A couple of years ago I had the privilege of studying with some people half my age - I was totally astounded by the volume of booze these people would drink even before they left home to go out. One night I went with them and before we left, 2 bottles of vodka went down between 8 of us! Frightening.
According to a recent BBC report the adults in Scotland are drinking the equivalent of 46 bottles of vodka each in a year based on a study conducted by the NHS Health Scotland.
It said sales for the year to September 2009 averaged 12.2 litres of pure alcohol per person over the age of 18.
The Scottish government said the figure, which had rema ...[text shortened]... ......
I have to admit this is a copy/paste direct from a thread on another site.
Originally posted by divegeesterI used to do one bottle of vodka before going to the bar. it was quite standard. I also brewed about 25l of wine a month, which also is quite common among the youngsters, and does not show up in the consumption per capita statistics.
Alcohol abuse is a ticking bomb; young people drink it like it's Ribena! A couple of years ago I had the privilege of studying with some people half my age - I was totally astounded by the volume of booze these people would drink even before they left home to go out. One night I went with them and before we left, 2 bottles of vodka went down between 8 of us! Frightening.
for these and other reasons I believe the studies about increasing price decreasing consumption simply doesn't hold at all. it simply goes underground. not having money has never stopped me from drinking either, nor do I know anyone to whom it applied. if there's a will, there's a way. youngsters have and will always drink too much, especially right when they move out from their parents. it's emancipation, rite of passage, all that and more. most stop or at least decrease the consumption after a few wild years. some don't, and they're gonna die young.
then there are the alternatives. any time alcohol isn't readily available, kids start sniffing glue etc. every time. now you might ask which is worse, and I think the answer is quite obvious.
it wasn't any different 50 years or 90 years ago. it just wasn't talked about that openly nor monitored. I've read the intervies of ye olden drunkards, and they usually began drinking at the age of 9 or even younger. most of them also said they knew instantly they were hooked.
think of prohibition, there's never been more alcohol crazed times anywhere like during prohibition in the countries the concept applies to. it simply drew the consumption through the roof, and multiplied the problems as organized crime was provided a huge market. same happened with drugs, and there are ample amount of studies to show the contrary effect of liberal policies.
so if none of the old thinking applies nor works, what's it all about then? the answer is really rather simple: social problems, poverty, culture of drinking.
the wine drinking countries consume up to 2x the amount of alcohol compared to us 'problem drinkers'. yet you hardly ever see drunks like you see with us. they start younger, drink more, at work, during school etc, yet it's not causing the same kind of problems as the smaller amount causes in problem drinking countries.
but although the answer is simple, the cure of course isn't: how to make people happy, how to change their outlook on life and themselves? well, it's a question all mankind has sought to answer for thousands of years without much success. all I know is the price of alcohol nor moral outrage has never had any impact on it, at least not a positive one.
I could go on for hours about this, but it would have to be around several pints of beer. who's buying the next round anyway? eh, garçon!