"Alcohol is an integral part of Scottish life." Scotland's alcohol consumption is among the highest in the world, according to World Health Organization data; on average, Scots consume the equivalent of more than 13 liters (3.4 gallons) of pure alcohol a year, about 40 percent more than Americans (2.4 gallons).
"It's clear we need further action to change Scotland's relationship with alcohol. One million Scots are regularly drinking too much; putting themselves at increased risk of liver disease, cancer, stroke and mental health problems.
The Scottish Health Survey 2021
The prevalence of hazardous or harmful levels of weekly alcohol consumption has declined steadily since 2003, from 34% (2003) to 23% (2021). The mean number of units of alcohol consumed per week by adult drinkers has also declined since 2003, from 16.1 (2003) to 11.3 (2021).
And there is evidence of an increasing number of adults in the country never or rarely (less often than monthly) drinking: 36% in 2021, up from 32% in 2018. 20% of Scottish drinkers consume 7+ units of alcohol in a typical drinking day, higher than the 16% of all UK drinkers.
Key facts. On average 24 people in Scotland died from illnesses wholly caused by alcohol every week in 2016. People are being diagnosed with alcohol related diseases, such as liver cirrhosis, at a younger age. 20.2 units of alcohol were sold per adult per week in 2016, 17% more than in England and Wales.
Scotch Whisky
Whisky is probably the most familiar of Scottish alcoholic drinks on this list. This distilled alcoholic beverage originated in the Scottish Lowlands as early as 1495, according to some sources. There are three main types of whisky – these being single malt, blended and grain.
Scotland's relationship with alcohol is widely perceived as harmful by the general public. An Ipsos Mori poll of adults in Great Britain in August 2022 highlighted that the public believes that the nation's drinking culture is one of its worst attributes.
The skalk refers to the Scottish Hebridean tradition of drinking a dram of whisky as an aperitif before breakfast.
Approximately 40% of the population (aged 14 years and over) drink alcohol at least once per week, including 5% of the population who drink daily. Twenty-three percent of Australians do not drink alcohol at all.
Whites have greater odds than Blacks, Hispanics, and Asians for either a past-year or lifetime alcohol use disorder. Native Americans have greater odds than Whites for lifetime alcohol dependence but similar odds for lifetime alcohol abuse and past-year alcohol abuse and dependence.
Psychological Factors
For example, individuals who suffer from depression, bipolar disorder, and social anxiety are much more likely to develop alcoholism. More than 40% of bipolar sufferers abuse or are dependent on alcohol, and approximately 20% of depression sufferers abuse or are dependent on alcohol.
Evidence suggests that there is a strong link between alcohol and crime, particularly violent crime. In Scotland in 2014, 59% of victims of violent crime thought the offender was under the influence of alcohol and 34% thought the offender was under the influence of drugs.
The reasons are many. Scotland's dreary weather is a potent if prosaic factor, some say, pointing to alcohol dependency as a historic means of coping with the country's unforgiving climate. Others, including clinical experts, lean more toward ingrained societal drivers.
Australians have been named the heaviest drinkers in the world in a survey after spending more time drunk in 2020 than any other nation. The international survey found Australians drank to the point of drunkenness an average of 27 times a year, almost double the global average of 15.
WHAT IS SCOTLAND'S NATIONAL DRINK? Whisky! (Although IRN BRU likes to think of itself as Scotland's 'other national drink' too).
Councils can ban drinking in public in certain areas
In Scotland, each local council has the power to apply its own set of rules (byelaws) on where over-18s can and cannot drink in public places.
The legislation aims to balance the rights of the majority of people who drink responsibly against the need to protect local communities from nuisance and crime associated with the misuse of alcohol.
England had the highest proportion of adults who said they drank alcohol in the previous week (57.8%), followed by Scotland (53.5%) and then Wales (50.0%); of the English regions, among consumers of alcohol, binge drinking was more common in the North West and least common in the South East.
Scotland's national dish is haggis, a savoury meat pudding, and it's traditionally accompanied by mashed potatoes, turnips (known as 'neeps') and a whisky sauce. Which brings us to the national drink – whisky. Over 100 distilleries in Scotland produce this amber-hued liquid, many of which can be explored on a tour.
Scotch Whisky must, by law, be distilled and matured in Scotland in oak casks for at least three years and bottled at a minimum alcoholic strength of 40% abv.
The 2021 Global Drugs Survey, which accepts submissions via an anonymous online survey, found that Australians got drunk 26.7 times a year, far higher than the second-ranking country, Denmark, on 23.8 times. The global average for getting drunk was 14.6 times per year.
The top 10 countries that consume the least alcohol across the WHO European Region are Tajikistan (0.9 litres), Azerbaijan (1.0), Turkey (1.8), Uzbekistan (2.6), Turkmenistan (3.1), Israel (4.4), Armenia (4.7), Kazakhstan (5.0), Albania (6.8), and North Macedonia (6.4).
Pakistan, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Mauritania, Libya, the Maldives, Iran, Kuwait, Brunei, and Bangladesh also have alcohol bans, as do some states in India (India is a Hindu-majority country but has a sizeable Muslim population).