d="p0010">Alcohol-related mortality in Scotland has increased then decreased since the 1980s.
dd><dt class="label">•dt><dd>d="p0015">To evaluate the impact of alcohol policy we need to understand the causes of these trends.
dd><dt class="label">•dt><dd>d="p0020">Income trends and alcohol affordability explain part of the rise and fall.
dd><dt class="label">•dt><dd>d="p0025">Adults aged 40–70 years during the 1990s and 2000s experienced the greatest change.
dd><dt class="label">•dt><dd>d="p0030">Lagged effects from historical change remain plausible from the available data.
dd>dl>