Alcohol-specific deaths across NHS Highland seem to be going down while the national figure remains high
Alcohol-specific deaths remain high across Scotland, but the Highlands seem to be in a healthier position compared to other regions.
According to figures published today by National Records of Scotland (NRS) the number of alcohol-specific deaths across Scotland as a whole is the highest since 2008.
In total, 1277 deaths were attributed to alcohol-specific causes in 2023, an increase of one from 2022.
But comparing the same two years for the NHS Highland area, 2023 saw 75 alcohol specific deaths in the region compared with 90 in 2022.
The 2023 figure is the lowest for NHS Highland over the past three years, which have all seen a downward trend.
NHS Highlands’ worst ever year was 2006 when the figure was 98.
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A spokesperson for the Highland Alcohol & Drugs Partnership (HADP) said it is deeply saddened by the number of people who have died.
“Our thoughts are with all families and friends affected by alcohol specific deaths,” they added. “It is tragic that the lives of people across Scotland and in Highland have ended prematurely. We acknowledge that more needs to be done to reduce the number of deaths and support people to recover.
“HADP encourages everyone that drinks alcohol to be mindful of the number of units they consume. The low-risk alcohol guidance advises that for all adults it is safest not to regularly drink more than 14 units of alcohol per week.
“If having 14 units per week, it is advised to spread this evenly over three or more days, and have several alcohol free days per week.
“The advice is to also avoid alcohol if you are pregnant or trying for a baby, to avoid risk of harm. Count14.scot website is a useful source of information with an alcohol calculator and suggestions of how to cut down – any reduction in alcohol reduces the harm.”
Eve MacLeod, HADP co-ordinator said: "We all have a role to play in reducing alcohol specific deaths.
“Tackling stigma and discrimination, which often acts as barriers to treatment, is something we can all do by using People First language and demonstrating kindness, compassion and hope towards people and families affected by alcohol problems.
“September is Recovery Month, and a timely reminder that people can and do recover, and there’s support available for this.”
If you are worried about your own or another person’s alcohol use contact: Directory-of-Services-2022.pdf (highland-adp.org.uk)
Carron McDiarmid chairwoman of HADP said: “HADP wishes to thank all partners for their collective action towards addressing alcohol-related harm in Highland.
“We will continue improvements in collaboration, and to bring individuals, families and partner agencies together to continue to achieve better outcomes for next year and the following years.
“One area everyone can support is our commitment to challenge stigma and discrimination towards people with problematic alcohol use.”
Across Scotland male alcohol-specific deaths continue to account for around two thirds of deaths in this way, up 25, while female deaths decreased by 24.
Phillipa Haxton, NRS head of vital events statistics, said: “The rate of alcohol-specific deaths peaked in 2006 and then fell until 2012. Since then it has generally risen.
“Those aged 45-64 and 65-74 continue to have the highest mortality rates. If we look at the average age at death, that has risen over time.
“The mortality rates for those aged 65 to 74, and 75 and over, were at their highest since we began recording these figures in 1994. As the same time for age 25-44 the mortality rate has been fairly stable over the last decade.”
Alcohol-specific deaths were 4.5 times as high in the most deprived areas of Scotland compared with the least deprived areas in 2023.
After adjusting for age, the alcohol-specific mortality rate was higher than the Scottish average in the council areas of Inverclyde, Glasgow City, North Lanarkshire, and Dundee City.
Scotland continued to have the highest alcohol-specific death rate of the UK constituent countries in 2022, the latest year for which comparable data exists.
Data for the rest of the UK is yet to be released for 2023. The difference between Scotland and the other UK countries has narrowed over the past two decades.
In 2001, the alcohol-specific mortality rate for Scotland was between 2.1 and 2.9 times as high as other UK countries. The rate for Scotland was between 1.2 and 1.6 times as high in 2022.
The publication Alcohol-specific Deaths 2023 is available here.
