By Steven Bell

PUBLIC HEALTH minister Shona Robison believes the country’s unhealthy relationship with alcohol is “holding Scotland back.”

The Dundee East MSP was speaking as new Government research put the cost of alcohol abuse to society north of the border at around £2.25 billion a year.

Ms Robison, who has been at the forefront of the SNP’s campaign to tackle the nation’s booze culture, said that the figure was based on “published data.”

“It looks at, for example, the cost to the NHS, the cost to social work criminal justice and the wider economic costs such as absenteeism and presenteeism with under performance due to alcohol.

“All of these sources are published sources and they have been brought together to give the full picture of alcohol misuse in Scotland. It really is very clear that it is holding us back as a nation.”

The costs include NHS (£405 million); social work services (£170 million); criminal justice and the fire service (£385 million); wider economic costs (£820 million) and human/social costs (£470 million).

The minister said that the £2.25 billion total was if anything a “cautious” estimate of the national bill, adding, “These shocking figures showing the scale of Scotland’s drink problem are truly sobering.

“It’s clear that the cost to Scotland from alcohol misuse cuts across services, including the NHS, the police, courts and social services—and also has a huge knock-on effect on our economy. Alcohol misuse isn’t just damaging our health and straining our services, it’s holding back our potential as a nation.

“The report also points out that there are a great many intangible costs to Scottish society from alcohol misuse—how do you put a price on domestic violence, child neglect or family grief.

“These figures are a reminder that Scotland’s alcohol problem is one of the biggest challenges we face, and tackling it must be one of our top priorities.

“That’s why, over the next three years, we will invest over £120 million to help prevent alcohol misuse, and provide support and treatment to those who need it.”

The minister was speaking as police in Dundee revealed their determination to continue cracking down on abuse of alcohol by under-18s. Funding has been found to continue Operation Dry-Up, which includes targeting under-age drinking dens and enforcement against premises.

Ms Robison said that a number of “tools” had been provided to police and other authorities across the country to help enforce alcohol legislation.

“We expect people to use those tools at their disposal, but we do need to do more,” she added in an interview with BBC Scotland.

“Enforcement is part of the picture, but so is tackling the availability, accessibility, the price and more importantly some of the cultural issues that have really made alcohol misuse an OK thing in Scottish society.

“We want to de-normalise alcohol misuse and that requires action across a number of fronts. There’s no easy solution here.”