Alcohol-related deaths are the highest in Scotland since 2008 – but it won’t be hard to beat that grim record

If ever we needed a reminder of how deadly drugs are, data released by the National Records of Scotland yesterday reminded us: deaths due to alcohol rose by 17 per cent in the last year with 1,190 people losing their lives. That’s the highest recorded number in over a decade, with little sign that this will be the last year a record is set.

Alcohol is sexist, as twice as many men as women die due to drinking. The inequality doesn’t stop there though. Those living in the most deprived areas are four times more likely to die compared to those in the most affluent areas. Although this gap isn’t quite as marked as the one for other drugs such as heroin and cocaine, where the ratio widens to a startling 18 times.

Behind these cold sounding statistics there is a sad reality. Most people don’t die due to using a single substance; they lose their life as a result of using multiple substances. Most of those who have alcohol recorded on their death certificate will also be smokers. Just like most of those who die with heroin on their death certificate will have regularly used alcohol, diazepam and tobacco.

People learn quickly the way that drugs compliment each other or how one enhances the effect of another. Cocaine and alcohol are common bedfellows as the depressant effect of alcohol is offset by the stimulant effect of cocaine – in other words, you can drink more and for longer when using cocaine. Unfortunately combining drugs also increases the risk of harm, whether that’s the slow burn type that takes years to manifest or the more sudden unexpected but fatal overdose.

Despite so many people using drugs like alcohol, only a relatively small proportion develop problems. Addiction isn’t accidental; there are some necessary ingredients, most of which can be potentially manipulated. Experiencing trauma, living in poverty, lacking hope and having a pre-existing psychological problem are just some of the common traits in those who become dependent.

All of these factors were amplified during the Covid pandemic, and we saw the impact this had on some people’s relationship with alcohol. Essentially there was a divide, where those who were abstinent or drinking at low levels continued to abstain or reduce the already low amounts they were consuming. This contrasted with those that entered the pandemic already drinking hazardous levels of alcohol and then increased the already large amounts they were consuming.

The rise in Scotland’s deaths due to alcohol is not a statistical blip or a one year wonder. They are the result of a constellation of factors, including the onward incline in inequality which leaves many people without hope, but access to a drug that quickly soothes and makes the lack of opportunity and change bearable: alcohol. That is matched by politicians north and south of the border who are failing to grasp the role that structural inequality has on those at the sharp end who have limited options, nevermind opportunities.

Until there is a serious attempt to narrow the gap between poverty and wealth, some people will continue to find their own way of surviving the blatant daily injustice they witness, and alcohol and other drugs will be their medicine of choice, even if it kills them.