People drinking at harmful levels

Year	Percentage of people drinking at harmful levels in Shetland	Percentage of people drinking at harmful levels in Scotland
2012-2015	27%	26%
2013-2016	25%	25%
2014-2017	24%	25%
2015-2018	23%	25%
2016-2019	20%	24%
2017-2021	20%	24%
2018-2022	19%	23%
2019-2023	19%	20%

The graph and table above show us that there has been a gradual reduction in the percentage of people drinking at harmful levels since 2012-2015 in Shetland going from 27% in 2012-2015, to 19% in 2018-2022 and 2019-2023. This is slightly lower than the Scottish level of 20% for 2019-2023, though, is still higher than the 2021 target of 18%. 

Almost a fifth of people in Shetland drink above the Chief Medical Officers’ low-risk guidelines. This includes 12% of women and 27% of men (2019-2023). More information on alcohol harms in Shetland can be found on Alcohol Focus Scotland’s local profiles. 

We may not see the true impact of the COVID 19 pandemic expressed in local data for some time yet, however, Alcohol Focus Scotland have reported that changes in drinking habits in Scotland are happening in two directions. Over a quarter of a people in Scotland reported drinking more than usual during lockdown and 13% of people reported drinking less.  Commissioned research from Alcohol Focus Scotland and Alcohol Change UK (2020) found that in Scotland people who were already drinking at high levels before the pandemic were more likely to have increased their drinking during lockdown. There has also been a shift to drinking in the home.

Last updated: December 2024