- The proportion of adults in Scotland drinking above the recommended maximum of 14 units per week fell from 34% in 2003 to 25% in 2013 and has stayed at a similar level since (25% in 2014 and 26% in 2015 and 2016).
- Male drinkers were twice as likely to drink above the recommended maximum of 14 units a week than female drinkers.
- The percentage of adults reporting that they do not drink alcohol increased significantly from 11% in 2003 to 16% in 2013, and has settled at that level since.
- More adults reported not drinking alcohol in the most deprived areas (26%) than the least deprived areas (11%) (age-standardised).
- Those in the least deprived areas drank on more days on average (2.9 days) than those in the most deprived areas (2.3 days).
- Male drinkers consumed significantly more alcohol on their heaviest drinking day than female drinkers in 2015/2016 combined (8.4 units compared with 5.9 units respectively).
- The average number of units of alcohol consumed by adults on their heaviest drinking day fell from 7.7 units in 2003 to 6.9 units in 2013, and has remained at a broadly similar level since then (7.3 units in 2016).
- Drinkers aged 75 and over consumed less alcohol at one time, but drank with greater frequency, on average, than younger drinkers who tended to consume greater volumes of alcohol in fewer drinking sessions.
- The proportion of adults who drank on more than 5 days in the last week has risen after a period of decline.