Independent information for Scotland

Clear information about alcohol in Scotland

Understand alcohol, the harm it causes, why dependence develops, how drinking affects families and communities, and what help is available across Scotland.

Worried about your drinking? Worried about someone else?

Explore Alcohol Scotland

What do you want to understand?

Start with the question that brought you here.

Scotland

Alcohol in Scotland

Deaths, hospital harm, drinking patterns, deprivation, culture, policy and inequality.

Explore → Understand

Understanding Alcohol

What alcohol does to the brain and body, tolerance, dependence, withdrawal and long-term health.

Learn more → Your drinking

Is my drinking a problem?

Signs that drinking is changing, losing control, cutting down, stopping and asking for help.

Look at your drinking → Support

Help & Recovery

NHS care, counselling, medication, detox, AA, alternatives and recovery in Scotland.

Explore your options → Families

Families & Friends

Living with someone else's drinking, protecting yourself and finding support.

Information for families → Evidence

Facts & Research

Scottish statistics, reports, research, definitions and evidence.

View the evidence →

Scotland in numbers

Alcohol harm in Scotland

Current figures from Scottish public-health and government sources.

Deaths Alcohol-specific deaths

Hospitals Alcohol-related admissions

Inequality Harm by deprivation

Consumption How Scotland drinks

See the latest Scottish figures →

Alcohol and inequality

The harm is not shared equally

Poverty, housing, employment, health and access to services all affect how alcohol harm is experienced.

To understand Scotland's relationship with alcohol, we also need to understand why some communities experience far greater consequences than others.

Alcohol, poverty and inequality →

Your drinking

You do not have to fit a stereotype

You can work, raise a family, pay the bills and still have a serious problem with alcohol.

Dependence does not always look the way people expect. Alcohol problems can develop gradually and remain hidden for years.

Understand your drinking

Finding help

AA is not the only route

Alcoholics Anonymous helps many people. It does not suit everyone. There are other forms of treatment and support in Scotland.

NHS treatment, counselling, medication, community services, recovery groups and confidential support can all form part of recovery.

See other options

Families & friends

Alcohol rarely affects only one person

Partners, parents, children, friends and wider families can live with uncertainty, arguments, financial problems, secrecy and fear.

You do not need to wait for somebody else to seek help before finding information and support for yourself.

Information for families and friends →

Evidence

Facts, research and Scottish data

Our information is based wherever possible on Scottish public-health data, clinical guidance, government publications and published research.

Statistics

Information without judgement

Alcohol Scotland exists to explain alcohol clearly and thoroughly: for people who drink, people affected by someone else's drinking, and anyone who wants to understand alcohol's impact on Scotland.