Alcohol consumption in the UK has more than doubled since 1950, with the rate of increase particularly noticeable since the early 1990s. This increase is against the backdrop of falling (or levelling) consumption trends over the last 10-15 years in most of the EU.
Sales data for the year 2007 estimate that Scots over the age of 16 drank, on average, the equivalent of almost 23 units of alcohol per week, compared to just over 19 units in England and Wales.
Like the rest of the UK, Scotland is still predominantly a nation of beer drinkers. However, beer's share of the UK alcohol market has been in steady decline over the last 30 years, from over 60 per cent in 1976 to 43 per cent in 2006.
Wine - and more recently cider - have become increasingly popular, with a market share of nearly 30 per cent in 2006, up from just over 10 per cent in the mid 1970s.
The main difference in consumption patterns between Scotland and the rest of Great Britain is the higher consumption of spirits in Scotland.
While spirits constituted around 29 per cent of all alcohol sold in Scotland in 2007, spirits made up less than a fifth of the alcohol drunk in England and Wales.
In terms of how we drink, we know that drinking heavily in individual sessions ('binge drinking') accounts for a relatively higher proportion of drinking occasions in the UK when compared to the rest of Europe.
Justice Minister Kenny MacAskill recently visited Barcelona on government business. Read his thoughts on the Catalan attitude to alcohol.