Overview

• There were 1,185 alcohol-specific deaths in 2024, a 7% fall from 2023 (92 fewer), with the mortality rate down to 20.9 per 100,000 from 22.5.
• Scotland continues to record the highest alcohol-specific death rate in the UK, with people in the most deprived areas 4.5 times more likely to die than those in the least deprived.
• Glasgow City had the highest local rate at 32.9 deaths per 100,000, with Inverclyde, West Dunbartonshire and Dundee also well above the national average.
• Roughly two-thirds of the deaths were male (801 men versus 384 women), with average ages at death reported as 60 for men and 58 for women.
• Ministers point to research attributing lives saved to Minimum Unit Pricing and cite roughly £160 million in funding, as charities and opposition figures label the total ‘appallingly high,’ press for wider community liver scanning, stronger treatment access and acknowledge undercounted alcohol-related harms.