-That's 25% more than English and Welsh
and the rest
Their fondness for a wee dram has long seen Scots caricatured as thirsty barhounds.
But even Glasgow's most famous drunk, Rab C. Nesbitt, might choke on his extra-strong lager when he hears how much his fellow countrymen are now drinking.
Scots are consuming the alcoholic equivalent of 46 bottles of vodka per head a year, research has revealed.
Cheers lads: Rab C Nesbitt (played by Gregor Fisher) and cronies in the classic BBC comedy
This is 25 per cent more alcohol per head than the English and Welsh.
The 50.5million litres of pure alcohol sold last year in Scotland - contained in beer, wine and spirits - was enough for each drinker aged over 18 to exceed the weekly consumption guidelines for men all year long, an analysis by
NHS Health Scotland found. The study calculated sales of pure alcohol per person based on total volumes of alcoholic drink sold.
It analysed drinks industry figures, which showed that sales for the year to September 2009 averaged 12.2 litres of pure alcohol per Scot over the age of 18.
The figure, which has remained virtually static since 2005, is equivalent to more than 46 bottles of vodka, 537 pints of beer or 130 bottles of wine.
In England and Wales, the total for the same period was 9.7 litres per person.
According to research, Scots are downing 25 per cent more alcohol per head of population than the English and the Welsh (posed by model)
Average weekly sales for Scottish drinkers were 26.5 units per person aged over 18, equivalent to 11 pints of beer or three bottles of wine.
In England and Wales, the figure was 21.8 units, slightly above the recommended weekly maximum for a man.
While the Scottish fondness for a drink might have provided plenty of laughs in the black comic world of Rab C. Nesbitt, played by Gregor Fisher in the series of the same name, the Scottish government is taking the issue of alcohol abuse very seriously. It is pushing for a
minimum price for every unit of alcohol to tackle it. Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon said it was time for critics of minimum pricing to 'wake up' to the scale of Scotland's drink problem.
She said: 'All the evidence tells us that the big rise in Scottish alcohol consumption in recent decades is closely linked with the 70 per cent drop in alcohol's relative cost.
A report put the cost to Scottish taxpayers of alcohol abuse at ?3.56 billion a year, due to the burden on police, the NHS, social services and the economy (file photo)
'As a consequence, our country now faces an unprecedented burden from alcohol-related health problems, crime and lost economic productivity, which runs into billions and which we are all paying for.
'Currently there is nothing to stop supermarkets selling alcohol more cheaply than bottled water and that's why it's possible to exceed the weekly drinking guidelines for a man for less than ?3.50.
'We believe setting a minimum price for alcohol, while not the whole answer, is a key weapon in the battle against alcohol misuse.'
A report published last week put the cost to taxpayers of alcohol abuse in Scotland at ?3.56billion a year, including the burden on police, the NHS, social services and the economy.
Labour's health spokesman in the Scottish parliament, Jackie Baillie MSP, said: 'We need to consider radical measures to reduce the level of problem drinking but minimum unit pricing is not the answer. The challenge now is for us to come up with something better.
'I am inviting the Scottish government to engage in the debate about alternative pricing mechanisms and other measures, such as alcohol treatment and testing orders and a mandatory Challenge 25 scheme.'
and the rest
Their fondness for a wee dram has long seen Scots caricatured as thirsty barhounds.
But even Glasgow's most famous drunk, Rab C. Nesbitt, might choke on his extra-strong lager when he hears how much his fellow countrymen are now drinking.
Scots are consuming the alcoholic equivalent of 46 bottles of vodka per head a year, research has revealed.
Cheers lads: Rab C Nesbitt (played by Gregor Fisher) and cronies in the classic BBC comedy This is 25 per cent more alcohol per head than the English and Welsh.
The 50.5million litres of pure alcohol sold last year in Scotland - contained in beer, wine and spirits - was enough for each drinker aged over 18 to exceed the weekly consumption guidelines for men all year long, an analysis by
NHS Health Scotland found. The study calculated sales of pure alcohol per person based on total volumes of alcoholic drink sold.
It analysed drinks industry figures, which showed that sales for the year to September 2009 averaged 12.2 litres of pure alcohol per Scot over the age of 18.
The figure, which has remained virtually static since 2005, is equivalent to more than 46 bottles of vodka, 537 pints of beer or 130 bottles of wine.
In England and Wales, the total for the same period was 9.7 litres per person.
According to research, Scots are downing 25 per cent more alcohol per head of population than the English and the Welsh (posed by model)Average weekly sales for Scottish drinkers were 26.5 units per person aged over 18, equivalent to 11 pints of beer or three bottles of wine.
In England and Wales, the figure was 21.8 units, slightly above the recommended weekly maximum for a man.
While the Scottish fondness for a drink might have provided plenty of laughs in the black comic world of Rab C. Nesbitt, played by Gregor Fisher in the series of the same name, the Scottish government is taking the issue of alcohol abuse very seriously. It is pushing for a
minimum price for every unit of alcohol to tackle it. Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon said it was time for critics of minimum pricing to 'wake up' to the scale of Scotland's drink problem.
She said: 'All the evidence tells us that the big rise in Scottish alcohol consumption in recent decades is closely linked with the 70 per cent drop in alcohol's relative cost.
A report put the cost to Scottish taxpayers of alcohol abuse at ?3.56 billion a year, due to the burden on police, the NHS, social services and the economy (file photo)'As a consequence, our country now faces an unprecedented burden from alcohol-related health problems, crime and lost economic productivity, which runs into billions and which we are all paying for.
'Currently there is nothing to stop supermarkets selling alcohol more cheaply than bottled water and that's why it's possible to exceed the weekly drinking guidelines for a man for less than ?3.50.
'We believe setting a minimum price for alcohol, while not the whole answer, is a key weapon in the battle against alcohol misuse.'
A report published last week put the cost to taxpayers of alcohol abuse in Scotland at ?3.56billion a year, including the burden on police, the NHS, social services and the economy.
Labour's health spokesman in the Scottish parliament, Jackie Baillie MSP, said: 'We need to consider radical measures to reduce the level of problem drinking but minimum unit pricing is not the answer. The challenge now is for us to come up with something better.
'I am inviting the Scottish government to engage in the debate about alternative pricing mechanisms and other measures, such as alcohol treatment and testing orders and a mandatory Challenge 25 scheme.'
It's sad Mate , but price hike's and prohibition has never worked in the past and don't think will now . You've got to ask , Why do people get so bladdered so often , maybe if our lives were so hunky dory , folk wouldn't need to escape 
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