A “STRIKING city divide” has been uncovered in a new study into problem drinking.
Work by Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems (SHAAP) looked into the cases of more than 600 heavy drinkers in Edinburgh and Glasgow.
It found one in six subjects died in the next two and a half years at an average of 51-years-old – 25 years under typical life expectancy in Scotland.
The work also found 70 per cent of cases in Glasgow reported mental health problems, compared with around 30 per cent in Edinburgh.
Women struggling with alcohol in Glasgow were also found to consume as much as their male counterparts, taking “significantly” more than females in Edinburgh.
SHAAP said this city divide is “striking” and the group says the findings further support its call for the introduction of tough new laws on the cost of alcohol.
The expert body was the first organisation to call for minimum unit pricing in Scotland, urging change as far back as 2007 based on front-line work and research.
However, legal action by the drinks industry has so far prevented Holyrood from enacting the measures it voted for five years ago. The latest appeal in the case, led by the Scotch Whisky Association, will be heard at the UK Supreme Court next week.
SHAAP chair Dr Peter Rice said: “We deeply regret that the implementation of MUP has been delayed by sustained legal challenge from parts of the drinks industry.
“The UK Supreme Court will hear the latest appeal on 24 and 25 July. We hope that it will uphold the two previous findings of the Court of Session in May 2013 and October 2016 and that the Scottish Government is then able to implement this life-saving measure.”
Lead researcher Dr Jan Gill, of Edinburgh Napier University, said: “The data sharply highlight the personal toll linked to heavy alcohol consumption, while the full extent of its earlier impact on each drinker’s quality of life and personal relationships can only be guessed.”
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