Shortly before he quit drinking for good, Steph McCutcheon went to hospital suffering what he thought was a heart attack. It turned out he was experiencing the side effects of alcohol withdrawal. "It had never really happened to me before because I kept topping up," said Mr McCutcheon.
READ MORE: Scot Govt has 'lost its way' on public health harms, say campaigners Scotland and Alcohol: All the articles in Herald investigation here How did we get here? A short history of Scotland's changing drinking culture Think we have always been Europe's problem drinker? These graphs will shock you The 56-year-old, from Kilmarnock in Ayrshire, had started drinking in his early teens. "I always associated alcohol with good fun and good times," he said. "I had had a couple of sips of beer or shandies at family parties then my first ‘proper’ drink around the age of 12 or 13 and it felt great, I felt that I fitted in and continued to seek out opportunities to get drunk when and wherever I could.
" As an adult, it took a toll on his family life and his health. He said: "My family suffered. I was spending money on alcohol instead of them.
"I always say, the worst thing that I stole from my kids was the time and love of their Dad. "I was never present. I was either out drinking or I was ill from drinking - hungover or crabbit, depressed, everything that comes with coming off alcohol.
"I'm on stomach tablets now for the rest of my life. If I eat anything spicy it flares up, just because of the .