Shock at Rocketing Booze Toll

The number of Scots seeking help for alcohol abuse has soared.

Women in their 20s are the biggest culprits with one in three binge drinking on a regular basis.

The majority of them are young professionals in high-pressure jobs.

As a result, 18 Alcoholics Anonymous groups have been set up in Scotland in the past year, bringing the total to 905.

Medical experts warned that binge-drinking among young professionals was leading to major problems.

Glasgow GP Dr Alan McDevitt said: "When you get a lot of young people together in industries such as IT, finance or sales, there can be a regular drinking culture.

"I have seen patients who have come from that kind of background recognising that they have started to have a problem.

"Traditionally, drinking was endemic in industries such as shipbuilding.

"Now it is high-performance service industries.

"It is seen as socially acceptable to drink far more. By the time people get to AA they are usually suffering social problems because of their drinking."

AA insiders confirmed that the number of young people seeking help has soared.

A Glasgow-based insider said: "In the past the average age of people first attending was around 45 but recently drinkers are becoming aware of their problem much earlier.

"We are seeing people beginning to attend AA around 20 to 30 years of age.

"The rise in female members has also increased greatly."

A study by University College London found that Scottish, English and Irish women aged 17 to 30 are the biggest drinkers.

The study looked at the drinking habits of 17,000 men and women in 21 countries.

It found Scottish, English and Irish women drank 11 times more than those in Germany and Italy.

The study also found that 26 per cent of British men went binge-drinking.

The Daily Record