Drinking culture

Alcohol is legal, widely available and socially accepted. It is present at weddings, funerals, sporting events, nights out, family gatherings and ordinary weekends at home.

That does not mean everyone drinks or that everyone who drinks has a problem. It does mean alcohol can become so familiar that heavy drinking is sometimes treated as ordinary long after it has started causing damage.

In 2025, 76% of alcohol sold in Scotland was sold through the off-trade: supermarkets, shops and other off-licences. That means most alcohol is bought to drink somewhere else, often at home.

This matters because drinking at home can be less visible. Measures may be larger, bottles are close at hand and there is no last order. A person's drinking can increase gradually without anyone outside the household seeing how much is being consumed.

If everyone in a friendship group drinks heavily, heavy drinking can feel ordinary. The same can happen in families, workplaces, clubs or communities where alcohol has always been part of how people socialise.

The useful question is not simply whether your drinking looks normal compared with other people. It is whether alcohol is affecting your health, memory, relationships, work, money or ability to choose when to stop.

In the 2024 Scottish Health Survey, 20% of adults were drinking at hazardous or harmful levels. The figure was 29% for men and 13% for women.

The highest proportion was among people aged 55 to 64, where 28% were drinking at hazardous or harmful levels.

These figures do not mean one in five adults is dependent on alcohol. They mean a substantial part of the population is drinking at a level associated with increased risk.

In 2024, 20% of adults in the Scottish Health Survey described themselves as non-drinkers. That proportion has risen over time.

Drinking may be highly visible in Scottish culture, but choosing not to drink is not unusual.

Public Health Scotland's retail sales data shows that off-trade alcohol sales per adult have remained higher in Scotland than in England and Wales across the years covered by the current series.

That does not mean every person in Scotland drinks more. Population figures describe a national pattern; they do not tell us what any individual drinks.

The proportion of adults drinking at hazardous or harmful levels has fallen over the long term, and the proportion of adults who do not drink has increased. Alcohol sales per adult drinker have also fallen over recent years.

That matters because "this is just how Scotland drinks" is not an explanation for accepting the harm. Social habits, availability, prices and attitudes all change over time.

If you are worried about your own drinking, start with the Your Drinking section. If someone else's drinking is affecting you or your children, Families & Friends has practical help, numbers and services.