Scots with chronic liver disease have soared three-fold in the previous 15 years due to excessive drinking. It is the second highest rate in Europe.

Nearly 9,072 people were treated in hospital for chronic liver disease, out of which 1,059 people died.

According to the Nicola Sturgeon, the Scottish health minister, “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 spiraled. These factors are not unrelated. 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 figures released by the Scottish Public Health Observatory revealed that the death rate from chronic liver disease between 1982 and 1992 were low. Whereas, in 2003, the rate of death had soared three-fold for Scots men to
29.14 per 100,000 and two-fold for women to 13.33 per 100,000. Around 85% of deaths from CLD were associated with alcohol in 2007 in comparison to 37 per cent in 1979.

The highest death rates are amid those aged between 55 and 69, but figures showed fivefold increase for those aged 30 to 39 since the1980s.