The number of deaths wholly attributable to alcohol fell by 3 per cent in Scotland last year, according to the latest figures from National Records of Scotland (NRS).
There were 1,152 alcohol-specific deaths registered in 2025, with a slight increase in the number of deaths among females. However, the death rate among men is still twice that among women, NRS points out. While the alcohol-specific death rate in the most deprived communities has also fallen, it remains nearly five times higher than in the least deprived.
Scotland and Northern Ireland continue to have the highest rates of alcohol-specific deaths in the UK, while the latest set of Scottish drug-related death figures showed an 11 per cent increase on 2024. The Scottish Government published its ten-year drug and alcohol plan earlier this year.
‘The number of deaths this year is the lowest from 2020 onwards and well below the peak of 2006,’ said NRS head of vital events statistics Phillipa Haxton. ‘However, the rate of deaths is around 1.7 times as high as 1994 when records for this series began.’ The age profile for alcohol-specific deaths has also grown older over time, she pointed out. ‘The rate of deaths continues to be highest among people aged 45 to 64 and 65 to 74, but the average age at death has increased from 54 to 60 years since 1979. This remains low compared to all causes of death where the average age of death was 77 in 2025.’
Despite the small decrease the number of deaths ‘remains far too high,’ said alcohol minister Maree Todd. ‘The Scottish Government and its partners are making progress in tackling alcohol harms, but we must do more. That’s why we are providing record levels of funding of over £160m this year for alcohol and drugs programmes, widening access to treatment and residential services, and improving pathways through detox, crisis care and stabilisation. We want everyone who needs help to have access to high-quality, joined-up support and our long-term joint strategic plan puts renewed emphasis on prevention and early intervention, while expanding treatment standards to include alcohol.’ A new alcohol harm prevention plan would be published soon, she added.
While the fall was good news, the Scottish Government had ‘rightly’ described the situation as a public health emergency, said Alcohol Focus Scotland chief executive Carolyn Lochhead. ‘We’re yet to see a response matching the scale and urgency required. The recent alcohol and drug strategy commits to improving treatment and services, which is vital. But to make real change, we need to give equal priority to preventing people from needing these services in the first place: and that means government action to make alcohol less central in our society. We want to see that happen as part of a comprehensive prevention plan, with action to keep controlling alcohol prices, restrict advertising and reform the licensing system.’
Alcohol-specific deaths 2025 is available here