Alcohol deaths in Glasgow rise during 2020

How many people died: Statistics released today show 163 alcohol specific deaths during 2020 - a rise on 143 in 2019 and 146 in 2018. Glasgow City had the second highest rate of alcohol-specific deaths per 100,000 residents, just behind Inverclyde.

Figures had been dropping: However, it was not as high as some recent figures - such as 187 in 2016 - and much lower than the 334 recorded in 2006. The five-year average is also the lowest it has been since the mid nineties.

Wider picture: The rise in Glasgow comes as Scotland recorded its highest number of alcohol specific deaths for more than a decade. Deaths have reached 1190, a 17 per cent rise on 2019.

What do the stats show: Men are more likely to suffer alcohol-specific deaths than women - in 2020, 826 men suffered alcohol deaths compared to 364 women. The most common age of deaths for both males and females were 60-64, 55-59 and 50-54.

Pete Whitehouse, director of Statistical Services at the National Records of Scotland, said: “NRS figures released today show a marked increase in the number of deaths due to alcohol, reversing the fall seen in 2019.

“Monthly analysis shows that alcohol-specific deaths were higher than average in 10 months of 2020. From August to November deaths were similar to or substantially higher than the highest numbers seen during these months over the last five years.”