Alcohol in Scotland is the portal through which major findings from the Alcohol Toolkit Study and other national data are made available to policy makers, clinicians, researchers, journalists and the general public.
Latest trends on alcohol consumption in Scotland from the Alcohol Toolkit Study
Vera Buss, Loren Kock, Jamie Brown
Last updated: 15th September 2026
Data collected during monthly household survey beginning October 2020
Each month involves a new representative sample of ~ 450 adults (16 and over)
Due to pandemic, surveys are conducted by telephone (rather than face-to-face), and among adults aged 18 and over between April 2020-December 2021.
Risky drinking operationalised as AUDIT-C of 5 or above (https://cks.nice.org.uk/topics/alcohol-problem-drinking/diagnosis/how-to-screen)
Methods described in open access: Kock L, Shahab L, Moore G, Beard E, Bauld L, Reid G, Brose L, Horton M, Gould A, Brown J. Protocol for expansion of an existing national monthly survey of smoking behaviour and alcohol use in England to Scotland and Wales: The Smoking and Alcohol Toolkit Study. Wellcome Open Research. 2021 Mar 29;6(67):67.
