By Professor John Robertson OBA
BBC Scotland, typically thick in the junior ranks but sneaky at the top, have this today:
Scottish alcohol deaths at 15-year high. The number of people in Scotland whose death was caused by alcohol remains at a high level, with the largest number of deaths in 15 years. The latest figures from National Records of Scotland, (NRS) show 1,277 people died from conditions caused by alcohol in 2023. This was one death more than the previous year, which was the highest number since 2008.
As always, from BBC Scotland, a more meaningful look at longer trends in the context of those economic factors known to influence alcohol death figures, such as poverty, inequality and of course, pandemic measures, is avoided in favour of a Scotland is in trouble line.
Look at the numbers surge under New Labour from 1997.
Look at them plummet under the SNP from 2007.
Look at them climb again as Tory austerity overpowers SNP efforts from 2010.
Look at the Covid effect from 2020.
Look at the recent stabilising as the Covid effect wears off and the Scot Gov programmes see 95% of referrals, for 5 straight years.
The OBA – https://scotsindependent.scot/?page_id=116
Sources:
Talking-up Scotland 
Sadly, I expect to see alcohol and drug deaths go down when the generation that was thrown into the trash heap by Thatcher continues to die off.
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