Indicator update: People drinking at harmful levels

The Scottish Health Survey 2021 showed that 20% of people in Shetland were drinking at harmful levels between 2017 and 2021. This is the same level as 2016-2019, however, it is a decrease from 27% in 2012-2016, indicating some improvement. 2021’s figure is lower than the Scottish level of 24% for 2017-2021, though, it is still higher than the 2021 target that no more than 18% of people are drinking at harmful levels.

20% of people in Shetland drink above the Chief Medical Officers’ low-risk guidelines. This includes 10% of women and 29% of men. 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 that they have been 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.

Updated data, trends and analysis is available on our people drinking at harmful levels page.