Research & Reports

Public Health Scotland updates its Alcohol Consumption and Harms Dashboard throughout the year as new datasets become available. The latest release available in October 2026 was published on 1 September 2026 and added updated estimates for partially attributable hospital admissions and mortality.

Alcohol-specific deaths for 2024 remain the latest National Records of Scotland annual release until the 2025 figures are published.

National Records of Scotland publishes the annual alcohol-specific death statistics. Public Health Scotland publishes hospital admissions and wider alcohol-attributable mortality and morbidity through its dashboard.

The two main Scottish sources are retail sales data from Public Health Scotland and self-reported drinking data from the Scottish Health Survey. They measure different things and are most useful when read together.

Alcohol affects many parts of the body and is linked with liver disease, several cancers, cardiovascular disease, injuries, mental health problems and dependence. International reviews are useful for the health science, while Scottish statistics show what is happening here.

Scottish research in this area includes treatment waiting times, residential rehabilitation, detox provision and surveys of what local Alcohol and Drug Partnerships provide.

Alcohol problems rarely affect only the person drinking. Research in this area looks at children and young people, family relationships, caring responsibilities, household stress and the need for support for relatives in their own right.

Scotland's official statistics show a large deprivation gap in alcohol-specific deaths and wholly attributable hospital admissions. Survey data also show why the pattern cannot simply be explained as poorer communities drinking more.

Scotland has produced a substantial body of research on minimum unit pricing and other alcohol policies. The final Public Health Scotland evaluation of minimum unit pricing was published in 2023 and informed the decision to continue the policy.

Scotland's current national alcohol and drugs strategy covers 2026 to 2035. It sets out the Scottish Government and COSLA's approach to prevention, treatment, care and recovery.

Scottish data should be the first source for what is happening in Scotland. International organisations are useful for broader research on alcohol, health risks, dependence, treatment and public-health policy.

These organisations publish much of the material used throughout Alcohol Scotland. Going to the original publisher is the best way to check definitions, methodology and later updates.

Alcohol research uses different definitions and datasets. Alcohol-specific deaths are not the same as all alcohol-attributable deaths. Hospital admissions may count admissions, patients or both. Retail sales are not the same as self-reported consumption.

Always check the year, population, definition and method before comparing figures from different reports.