We can change Scotland's story on alcohol

Justina Murray, Chief Executive, Aberlour Children’s Charity

This week we have seen further evidence of Scotland’s toxic relationship with alcohol, with the publication of the latest alcohol-specific death figures.[1] In 2025, 1,152 people in Scotland died through alcohol.[2] This may be 3% lower than the previous year, but it remains 13% up on pre-pandemic levels. Alarmingly, death rates for women are rising (3% up).

The human toll of this loss is traumatic for families and communities. So, so many lives lost. And this sits alongside the everyday harms felt by those concerned about their own drinking, and those desperately worried about keeping their loved ones alive. 

The story of alcohol in Scotland today is that we have a higher rate of alcohol deaths than England and Wales. We buy more alcohol per adult than England and Wales. Almost 1 in 5 of us drink enough to harm our health and to be classed as hazardous, harmful or dependent drinkers. More of us are diagnosed with chronic liver disease each year. We don’t really think about alcohol being linked to over 200 health conditions or causing 7 different types of cancer. In a country where we routinely hear, “There is no money”, alcohol harm is estimated to cost us up to £10 billion a year.[3]

There is little sign of any shift in Scotland’s entrenched ‘Alcohol Everywhere’ culture. Just this week (only a day after the alcohol death figures were released), a hospitality chain in Edinburgh asked for licensing permission for unaccompanied 12-15 year olds to be in their pubs until 8pm, describing these as “family-friendly” and “accessible” environments for young people.[4] And earlier this month we saw the First Minister raising a glass of whisky on the front cover of the SNP conference handbook, of all of the images which could have been used under the banner ‘Choose Scotland’.[5]

And what is the story for the children and families we support? I joined Aberlour last year - our 150th birthday year. Perhaps due to that timing, or certainly encouraged by it, I often reflect on the organisation’s long history and deep legacy, including what might be the same or different now compared to the early days of the Aberlour orphanage. This grew to care for up to 600 children at any one time, all in one place. Nowadays our models of care have radically altered, with our remodelled Sycamore children’s houses providing safe and loving family-sized homes in the community for 3 or 4 children at a time, alongside a broad continuum of services to support babies, children, young people and families facing disadvantage and adversity, from early help to the most intensive support. 

Despite all these changes, that thread of alcohol harm in families - and the havoc this creates in every respect - runs through every chapter of our 150 years. This harm impacts the lives of children and families across every one of our services today, just as it shaped the story for so many children arriving at the original Aberlour orphanage.  

But we are also working alongside families to change Scotland’s story on alcohol. There is quite rightly a call for better prevention and early support for families, but how we respond in a crisis speaks volumes. We offer a range of specialist services for pregnant and new mums and their babies where there is harm through alcohol and other substances. This includes our residential Mother and Child Recovery Houses, alongside community-based perinatal and intensive perinatal services. The impact of these services is mind-blowing, with 65-70% of mums staying safely with their babies, when previously their children were at extremely high risk of going into care - with all the accompanying human and financial cost of this. 

These services provide concrete and costed evidence that with the right approach and investment, we can write a whole new chapter alongside children and families. This support offers a blueprint for whole family recovery, helps us #KeepThePromise (not just say it), delivers effective child protection, and models outcomes-focused Public Service Reform. 

It’s time for a different story on alcohol harm in Scotland, let’s turn the page.