A Fife councillor has raised his personal health fears over the impact of a no-deal Brexit.
SNP councillor Ian Ferguson, 58, is a Type 1 diabetic and relies on daily injections of insulin to keep his blood glucose levels under control.
With no human insulin made in the UK, supplies are shipped in from other European countries, including Germany and Denmark.
The Dunfermline North councillor said fellow diabetics had been stockpiling for months in case ports are brought to a standstill by red tape in the wake of a no-deal Brexit.
“I’ve heard people who get a six-weekly repeat prescription are putting it in every four weeks instead so they can ensure they have enough,” he said.
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Insulin is transported into Britain in refrigerated containers and Mr Ferguson any port hold ups could jeopardise the precious cargo.
He said reports suggested patients like him could survive for between one and 10 days without their medicine.
“If someone takes your insulin away that’s that – there is nothing else you can take, nothing else you can do,” he said.
“It is insulin or nothing – it’s not like aspirin or paracetamol.”
Mr Ferguson was diagnosed in the early 80s when he was a student and has lived with the condition, with careful monitoring.
There are an estimated 228,000 diabetics in Scotland – with Type 1 sufferers accounting for about 12%.
