24 SCOTS PER WEEK KILLED BY ALCOHOL

Charities demand action after deaths rise while support for addicts falls

- VIVIENNE AITKEN

ALCOHOL is killing 24 people a week in Scotland but access to specialist treatment has plummeted, according to a report.

New analysis by leading charity Alcohol Focus Scotland shows alcohol deaths are at their highest level in 15 years.

The charity is warning that if we don't act now to prevent and treat alcohol problems, Scotland could be turning the clock back 30 years to when death rates soared to record levels.

Its research shows the numbers beginning specialist alcohol treatment dropped from a peak of 32,556 in 2013/14 to just 19,617 in 2021/22-a 40 per cent decline across Scotland.

The period of decline coincides with a period when funding to Alcohol and Drugs Partnerships, who are responsible for overseeing local alcohol services, was cut by 20 per cent from £69.2million to £53.8million.

In 2021, 1245 people lost their lives to alcohol-specific causes, the highest number since 2008.