Tougher measures are needed to tackle high levels of alcohol-related deaths, medical experts say.
He said the proposals to restrict alcohol advertising, especially to young people, had caused real concern to an industry which was already facing challenges.
Experts believe restricted services and isolation were factors in a spike in alcohol deaths during the Covid pandemic.Dr Alastair MacGilchrist, chairman of expert alcohol medical group, Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems, told the BBC the alcohol crisis did not get as much attention as it should.
"We must redouble our efforts to reduce the amount people drink," he said. "We can enhance existing measures such as minimum unit pricing and introduce further measures such as restricting marketing."When Shari returned to her native Edinburgh after 30 years in London, alcohol was already a large part of her life.
"There was just loneliness, and with alcohol, I was thinking I had found the anaesthetic to numb life and make it seem that little bit better, more bearable," she said.Shari added: "The only disciplined part of my day was, fundamentally, the purchase of alcohol.""That was relentless - day in, day out, every day," she said.She said alcohol support was restricted during the pandemic and many services went online.
She said: "There were numerous things wrong with me, and they were all basically alcohol-related, to the point, where my family and I were told that I had to stop and if I didn't, I didn't have a future at all.Shari has been sober for a year after a stint in residential rehab. She is supported by the charity Rowan Alba."I feel like a different person," she said. "I feel like the old me.
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