Alcohol accounts for around 1.4 million GP consultations in Scotland every year, with the NHS footing a bill of £28 million, the British Medical Association has said.

In a survey of a single day's consultations, the BMA found alcohol was a factor in more than 5,500 consultations, or 6 per cent of all GP consultations in Scotland.

The results showed more needed to be done to tackle alcohol and reduce problems such as hypertension, breast cancer and domestic abuse, said Alan McDevitt, deputy chair of the BMA Scottish General Practitioner's Committee.

The BMA survey follows a pilot involving 27 pharmacies in Lambeth, London, which showed pharmacists could provide a cost-effective alcohol screening and brief intervention service, with management options including pharmacy-based counselling and advice or referral to a GP or specialist service.

"The patients seen in general practice are just the tip of the iceberg. The impact of alcohol misuse across the rest of the NHS, in hospitals and in our communities, is far greater," Dr McDevitt added.

More than 1,800 patients a year in Scotland die from alcohol-related conditions, with the cost of alcohol misuse in terms of health, violence and crime estimated at £3.56 billion per year.