Scots drink more than English and Welsh

Scots drink more than English and Welsh

New analysis of sales figures, conducted by Nielsen for
the Scottish Government, show that Scots drink an average of 11.8 litres
of pure alcohol per adult, per year compared with 9.9 litres in England
and Wales (2007 figures).

Both north and south of the border, the figures remained
stable from 2005 to 2007. Another similarity appeared in the split
between on-trade and off-trade sales: In both areas off-sales accounted
for around 60% of alcohol sold, increasing from 61% (Scotland) or 60%
(England and Wales) to 63% (both) between 2005 and 2007.

However, there were some differences between the
countries. In Scotland, spirits accounted for 29% of alcohol sold
whereas this was only 18% in England and Wales, with higher proportions
of wine and beer sold in these countries. Scots drink similar quantities
of alcohol as wine and beer as those south of the border (4.4 litres of
pure alcohol in beer in both areas, 3.0 litres (Scotland) vs. 2.8
litres (England and Wales) of pure alcohol in wine), but more alcohol as
spirits (3.5 litres vs. 1.8 litres).

Detailed figures are available here.