Binge drinking among Scots is on a rise and what makes the situation more worrying is the chronic liver disease it gets along. The number of this disease due to drinking has trebled in the past 15 years. Scotland has the second highest rate in Europe.

According to NHS about 9,072 people suffering from the disease were treated in hospital and the disease caused 1,059 deaths.

Mortality rate among 30 to 39-year-olds linked with chronic liver disease has increased five times in 25 years.

On one hand where other European nations are experiencing a fall in the rate of disease, on the other, Scotland is reporting more such cases. Scotland comes next to Hungary in such cases.

Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon said the statistics called for a need to take strict action on alcohol misuse and fixing a minimum pricing for drink.

“Most worrying is the increase in alcohol-related problems among young people, who are putting themselves at risk of serious health problems. Alcohol is now around 70 per cent more affordable than it was in 1980 and, over the same period, consumption and alcohol-related harm have spiralled. These factors are not unrelated. Cheap alcohol is making a serious situation even worse. By linking price to product strength, minimum pricing will put an end to the sale of high-strength alcohol for less than the cost of bottled water.”

The Alcohol Misuse Bill is making its way in the Scottish Parliament which is meant to introduce a minimum price per unit of alcohol.