- Glasgow: Clubbers could be breathtested in a controversial survey to crack down on binge drinkers, it was revealed yesterday. The Alcohol Action Group want to find out how much they booze on a night out. The study follows a shock increase in alcohol-related injuries, which have soared from 14,000 to 51,000 in the past 10 years. The AAG say the plan is still on the drawing board and the B-tests will be voluntary. But club owners are furious their licences could be stripped if they are caught serving too much booze. Eddie Tobin, head of the Glasgow Nightclubs' Forum branded the research "a joke". The Sunday Mail
- Major drinks companies are to work with the Scottish Executive in a bid to beat alcohol misuse, it was announced today. In what will be the first formal partnership of its kind between industry and government, Diageo, InBev (Tennents), the Scotch Whisky Association and Scottish & Newcastle will work with the Executive to tackle the health and social harm associated with Scotland's heavy drinking culture. The work will include new guidelines on the promotion of alcohol, a common set of responsible drinking messages, and developing model alcohol policies for workplaces. Speaking at the International Council on Alcohol and Addictions conference in Edinburgh, Health Minister Andy Kerr said Scotland was paying far too high a price for its attitude to alcohol. He said: "Scotland has a reputation of being a nation of heavy drinkers. It is a reputation we are far too relaxed about. If Scotland is to fully realise its potential to be the best small country in the world then we need to challenge the ethos of drinking simply to get drunk. Scotsman
- Alcohol-related liver diseases have rocketed in Scotland by 104% in a decade. And more than 40% of 15-year-old girls now admit to drinking in the last week, while overall booze consumption has doubled since the 1970s. These stark realities of Scotland's fatal love affair with alcohol were revealed yesterday by one of the country's leading authorities on the subject. Professor Peter Brunt is an advisor on alcohol issues to First Minister Jack McConnell. He told a conference in Glasgow that he believed the increasing availability and low cost of drink were two major factors influencing the explosion in alcohol-related health issues. His comments came the same day it was revealed that drink-related deaths in Scotland have more than doubled since the start of the 1990s. Last year, 1513 Scots died from disease and issues related to drink compared to 657 in 1990. But at the conference, organised by Alcohol Focus Scotland, Professor Blunt said the nation's new licensing legislation, which will prevent drinks promotions such as happy hours, due to begin in September 2009, could pave the way for a reversal of this worrying trend. "It isn't all doom and gloom. The new Scottish licensing legislation is better than it was before and better than the rest of the UK," he said. "If operated well it can lead to a changing shift in the drinking culture." Jack Law, Alcohol, Focus chief executive, added: "We, in Scotland, are leading the way in linking licensing with our improvement of health aspirations." Evening Times
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