SCOTLAND'S attitude to alcohol continues to cost the country dear, and figures released by the Scottish Government this week show that the culture of binge and heavy drinking is taking its toll on the health of younger people as well as costing the country £3.6 billion a year (£900 for every adult.
Data from the Scottish Health Survey suggests that while a considerable number of people in the Borders exceed the safe weekly number of alcohol units, only a very small number in the region drink excessively.
In a report to Scottish Borders Licen
sing Board last week it states: "Data from the Scottish Health Survey suggests that excessive drinking is less common in the Scottish Borders than in other parts of Scotland and in Scotland as a whole."
There are a considerable number of Borderers who drink more than the recommended weekly safe number of units of alochol (14 for women 21 for men) but the region does not have a high number of heavy drinkers (35+units for women and 50+ units for men) compared to other areas in Scotland.
In the region 29 per cent of men exceed their weekly limit of 21 units (nationally that figure is 34 per cent) and 23 per cent of women in the Borders exceed the 14 unit safe limit (nationally that figure is also 23 per cent). Throughout Scotland nine per cent of men drink excessively (4.5 per cent of Borders men) and four per cent of women are heavy drinkers (two per cent in the Borders).
Between November 08 and November 09 there were 188 people admitted to the Borders General Hospital accident and emergency department whose presence there was alcohol related. Of those 24 were 16 years old or under; 11 of them were aged 17 to 18 years old; and 153 were adults.
People suffering long term medical problems because of their drinking has increased since 2003 by 30 per cent to 150 but despite that, "year on year the Borders has had a consistently lower rate of general acute inpatient discharge with an alcohol-related diagnosis than the national rate".
The Scottish alcohol hospital statistics and liver disease statistics published this week show: 115 hospital discharges per day due to alcohol misuse;alcohol-related discharges have increased by nine per cent over the past five years; alcohol-related discharges have increased by 22 per cent for 30-34 year olds and by 19 per cent for 35-39 year olds.
Scotland's rate of chronic liver disease almost trebled over the last 15 years - and continues to rise.
Chronic liver disease death rates amongst 30-39 year olds has risen almost five-fold since the mid 1980s.
Rates of hospital discharge for chronic liver disease among young Scottish women (25-29) has increased seven fold over the last 20 years.
Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon said: "These shocking statistics make grim reading and provide yet more evidence that we must turn the tide of alcohol harm."
These latest figures add strength to the SNP Government's plans to introduce a minimum price per unit for alcoholic drinks, and Nicola Sturgeon said: "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."
After the introduction of new licensing laws, Scottish Borders Licensing Forum has also been looking at the number of licensed premises in the region to determine whether some places have too many pubs, nightclubs and off-licences for the level of population.
In a report to a joint meeting of the Scottish Borders Licensing Board and Licensing Forum last week the conclusion was that provision in the region is at a "sensible limit at the present time".
However, it was recognised that because of the geography of the area, and the fact that only two thirds of the population live in settlements of 1500 or more, licensed premises tended to be clustered in larger settlements and people travelled around the region to them.
"As a result it is extremely difficult to specifically set a number or draw a line where anything over such number or line could be considered to be overprovision in a particular locality," the report concluded.
There are 442 licensed premises in the Borders, 102 of them 'members clubs' giving an average of approximately 30 licensed premises per 10,000 head of population. The national average being approximately 41 per 10,000 head of population.
"By simply taking that statistic into consideration it would be easy to state that there is no overprovision or likely to be overprovision in the near future in the Scottish Borders," read the Licensing Froum report.
"The reality, however, is that types of premises and capacities vary greatly, it is therefore possible that there could be an overprovision of a particular type of licensed premises within a specific locality or the granting of a licence for a particular type of operation may create an overprovision."
Mindful of figures showing that the people suffering from alcohol related illnesses are getting younger, Scottish Borders Licensing Board concluded that "well run on-sales premises are a preferred and safer environment for alcohol consumption and should be encouraged over drinking at home".
