Plea to cut drug and drink death toll
AN MSP whose father died from alcohol misuse told Holyrood that stigma around drink and drug problems is costing lives.
Labour’s Monica Lennon led a members’ debate on alcohol and drug-related deaths, after an emotional contribution earlier this year in Parliament about her dad.
The latest figures show 1265 people in Scotland died from alcohol problems last year – a 10 per cent rise.
Illegal drugs claimed the lives of 867 people last year – up by 23 per cent.
Lennon appealed for a “radical cultural change” to tackle the stigma around alcohol and drug problems which she said prevents people from accessing help.
She called for “dehumanising” labels such as “alky, jakey and junkie” to be ditched and claimed TV characters such as Rab C Nesbitt made drinking to excess appear as “a lifestyle choice and not one that the middle class would make”.
She said: “Losing my own dad to alcohol harm in 2015 has perhaps tempered my sense of humour but I don’t feel much like laughing along with snooty, classbased prejudice dressed up as entertainment.
“Perhaps it’s because I felt the suffocation of stigma, that cloak of shame that stops people from accessing treatment. Stigma stops people from getting the support they need and is costing people their lives.”
The SNP’s Clare Haughey said the Scottish Government are committed to tackling the problem and will reveal a new alcohol strategy and alcohol and drug treatment action plan next year, alongside minimum pricing for booze.
Tory health spokesman Miles Briggs said each death from drug and alcohol misuse is “preventable”.
He criticised the Scottish Government’s cut in funding for alcohol and drug partnerships and said more help was needed in deprived communities.