The root causes vary, but include mental health issues and poverty in general. We should instead focus on those issues more.
The main alcohol related root cause is the culture of binge drinking. The way to tackle that is to create and encourage a culture of moderate drinking. Change licensing laws to make it easy for families to go to pubs for example.
And also have more sources of entertainment for early-20s adults than bars. I've lived in many smaller towns in the USA where the only entertainment after 8pm was a bar.
> binge drinking. The way to tackle that is to create and encourage a culture of moderate drinking
In scotland?? Drinking culture is tied in to masculinity at least in the UK midlands ('beer or queer' - that kind of shit though thankfully fadin) and I'll bet it's the same in scotland. And you've got an entire drug industry, the drinks industry, working hard to get people to abuse, NOT use, to ABUSE to excess, their product.
It's a deep problem with very difficult solutions. Externalised costs of capitalism, shitty lives, poverty, people who can't see a way out and if offered won't take it...
From what I've seen the beer is manly culture is going away. There's also a lot more awareness of drinking levels and sobriety. It's far easier and more socially acceptable to drink moderately now. These changes are mostly driven by healthy living concerns.
Educating people about lifestyle is proving effective.
The main alcohol related root cause is the culture of binge drinking. The way to tackle that is to create and encourage a culture of moderate drinking. Change licensing laws to make it easy for families to go to pubs for example.