Scotch whisky fund to tackle alcohol harm

09-Dec-2013 - Last updated on 09-Dec-2013 at 12:38 GMT

Related tags Whisky Scotland Scotch whisky association

The Scotch Whisky Association has launched a new fund to tackle alcohol-related harm

The Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) has launched a new fund – planned to deliver £500,000 over five years – to combat alcohol-related harm, as the number of middle-aged heavy drinkers surge, according to a new report.

The Scotch Whisky Action Fund will make a total of £100,000 available each year from 2014 to 2018 to projects working to reduce alcohol-related harm in Scotland.

Alcohol kills the equivalent of 20 people a week in Scotland, confirmed the National Health Service (NHS) group Health Scotland.

Gavin Hewitt, SWA chief executive, said: “Alcohol is part of Scottish life and brings a range of benefits to Scotland and its economy. But we recognise there is a problem with alcohol misuse that has to be tackled and we are committed to taking a central role to address misuse in this drive through our Scotch Whisky Action Fund.

Reduce alcohol misuse

“The Scotch Whisky Action Fund is our latest initiative tackling alcohol-related harm. We are looking to help charities and other organisations across Scotland which work to reduce alcohol misuse and aim to make a real difference.”

Meanwhile, in a separate development, people in their 40s have the highest rates of hospital admissions for alcohol and drug abuse, revealed a new review.

The research, conducted by health consultancy group Dr Foster, showed that more than 500,000 Britons were hospitalised in the past three years due to drink or drugs. Of that total, 120,000 were in their 40s, uncovering a big increase in the age of middle-aged heavy drinkers.

Tacking the the twin problems of alcohol and drug abuse is estimated to cost the NHS £600M a year.