James Jordan, Sky News Online

Adults in Scotland are drinking the equivalent of 46 bottles of vodka each a year - 25% more than the English and Welsh, a new study suggests.



The 50.5 million litres of pure alcohol sold in Scotland last year was enough for every drinker over the age of 18 to exceed the consumption guidelines for men every week of the year.
The research comes as the Scottish Government pushes for a minimum price for alcohol to tackle the country's huge drink problems.
It is based on industry sales data analysed by NHS Health Scotland and looked in part at sales of pure alcohol per person, as opposed to total volumes of alcoholic drink.
According to the report, sales for the year to September 2009 averaged 12.2 litres of pure alcohol per person over the age of 18.
The Scottish Government said the figure, which remained virtually static since 2005, is equivalent to more than 46 bottles of vodka, 537 pints of beer or 130 bottles of wine.

We believe setting a minimum price for alcohol, while not the whole answer, is a key weapon in the battle against alcohol misuse.
Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland Health Secretary
In England and Wales, the total for the same period was 9.7 litres per person.
Average weekly sales for Scottish drinkers were 26.5 units per person over the age of 18, equivalent to around 11 pints of beer or three bottles of wine.
In England and Wales, the figure was 21.8, slightly higher than the recommended weekly maximum for a man.
Scotland Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon said it was time for critics of minimum pricing to "wake up" to the scale of Scotland's drink problem and called for a minumum price for alcohol to be set.
She said: "We believe setting a minimum price for alcohol, while not the whole answer, is a key weapon in the battle against alcohol misuse."
A report out earlier in the week put the cost to Scots taxpayers of alcohol abuse at £3.56bn a year.