Alcohol-specific deaths in Scotland fall 3% to 1,152, the lowest total since 2020
New figures from National Records of Scotland show a second annual fall, driven by fewer deaths among men, as a Fife hospital starts a trial of a dedicated alcohol care team.
By Daily Oracles News Team2 min read
Deaths caused directly by alcohol fell in Scotland for the second year running in 2025, according to figures published on Tuesday by National Records of Scotland.
There were 1,152 alcohol-specific deaths registered last year, 33 fewer than in 2024 and a drop of 3%. That is the lowest number in any year since 2020. In 2024 the total was 1,185, itself down from 1,277 in 2023.
Adjusted for the age of the population, the rate was 20.2 deaths per 100,000 people. Alcohol-specific deaths are those wholly caused by drinking, such as alcoholic liver disease, and do not include conditions where alcohol is only one of several factors.
The fall was entirely among men. Male deaths dropped by 5%, or 43, while female deaths rose by 3%, or 10. The male death rate remains more than double the female rate.
Who is most affected
Deaths are concentrated in middle and older age. The 45 to 64 and 65 to 74 age groups continue to have the highest rates, and the average age at death has risen over the past decade.
Geography and income both make a large difference. Over the five years from 2021 to 2025, rates were above the Scottish average in Glasgow City, Inverclyde, North Lanarkshire, West Dunbartonshire, Dundee City and Renfrewshire. In 2025, people in the most deprived areas died from alcohol at 4.8 times the rate of those in the least deprived. For deaths from all causes, the gap is about two times.
Last year the number of deaths fell in 16 of Scotland's 32 council areas, rose in 11 and was unchanged in five.
Comparisons across the UK lag a year behind. In 2024, Scotland and Northern Ireland had the highest rates in the UK, at 20.9 and 21.4 deaths per 100,000 people respectively.
Spending and a Fife pilot
The Scottish Government said it was spending more than £160m this year on alcohol and drug programmes, including treatment and residential services. It also credited minimum unit pricing, which Public Health Scotland estimated had saved hundreds of lives over the period it evaluated.
Alongside the figures, ministers launched a pilot of alcohol care teams in hospitals, a commitment in the Programme for Government. The first, in Fife, was launched at Whytemans Brae Hospital in Kirkcaldy with £164,000 of initial funding and £328,000 next year. It is designed to give patients more support after they leave hospital, linking them with primary care, specialist and charity services, and to detect alcohol use disorder and liver disease earlier.
The government said it intends to extend the model to other areas if the pilot works, and that a new Alcohol Harm Prevention plan will be published shortly.
