SNP ministers have been called on to review minimum alcohol pricing as problem drinking rocketed across the UK during lockdown.
The percentage of people in Scotland dying from alcohol has decreased over the last 20 years but the figure remains higher than in both England and Wales.
A report out today found that only Northern Ireland had a worse rate of deaths in the UK caused by problem drinking in 2019, the most recent year for which data is available.
Now a leading charity is calling on the Scottish Government to review the minimum price per unit of alcohol sold north of the Border.
Alcohol Focus Scotland said the current unit price of 50p was likely to have been eroded by inflation since it was set almost a decade ago.
Minimum unit pricing (MUP) was finally introduced in Scotland in May 2018 following years of delays from legal challenges.
It targeted low-cost, high-strength product such as white cider - seen as a source of problem drinking - by setting a minimum unit price of 50p per unit of alcohol.
It comes as a separate report out today found that deaths caused by booze in England and Wales hit a new high during the first nine months of 2020, when a national lockdown was first introduced.
Between January and September, 5,460 of these deaths causes were registered - up 16% on the same months in 2019.
While equivalent data is not yet available for Scotland, health experts believe it is likely that such a trend will be mirrored among Scots.
Alison Douglas, chief executive of Alcohol Focus Scotland, said: “Despite an encouraging decrease, Scotland continues to experience considerably more alcohol-specific deaths than England and Wales.
"Each death represents a life cut tragically short and many more scarred by loss. Every alcohol-related death is preventable, and we should not be seeing these high numbers.
“The evidence from the independent evaluation of MUP so far has shown that it is having the intended effect on alcohol consumption. The primary purpose of minimum unit price is to save lives and improve health.
“However, deaths from alcohol remain far too high - and this is before we see the potential impact from coronavirus and the associated restrictions.
"We believe now is time to review the 50p minimum price. The impact of the current rate is likely to have been eroded due to inflation during the time since the measure was first passed in parliament in 2012."
She added: “Alongside MUP we need to look at other measures to help stem the tide of alcohol harm. Reducing how readily available alcohol is and how heavily it is marketed could help to improve the lives of thousands of Scots by preventing problems developing in the first place.”
The Record has asked the Scottish Government for comment.
