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The Scottish health minister has announced that there will be 60,000 alcohol brief interventions in the coming year.
The interventions are delivered by health professionals when they think someone’s health problems are alcohol-related.
Nicola Sturgeon told the SNP spring conference in Aviemore:
"They are a tried and tested way of helping people address problems before they become too serious."
She also announced today that the SNP government will establish an entitlement to universal health checks for everybody over the age of 40.
"From May, innovative web-based health checks will be piloted in NHS Grampian before being rolled out across the country," she told delegates.
"And later this year, we will announce two pilot health board areas where face-to-face universal health checks will be available next year."
Sturgeon said "the time for talking about our alcohol problems is over" and attacked Labour for failing to back the Scottish government's "radical alcohol bill".
"It is backed by those on the front line," she said.
"But it is not backed by Labour.
"Scotland's main opposition party has failed to rise to the alcohol challenge.
"We backed the smoking ban, but on alcohol they have put party politics before public health.
"They should be ashamed of themselves."
Sturgeon, who also is deputy leader of the SNP and deputy first minister of Scotland, said alcohol interventions "will help us tackle the poor health that has robbed generations of Scots of so much potential".
Later in her address to conference she said only a vote for the SNP is a vote against "new weapons of mass destruction on the River Clyde".
Sturgeon said in government the SNP has "shown what we can do, but we know we can do more".
"It is only with independence that we will be able to take all the decisions that matter," she said.
"It is only with independence that we will build the strong, successful, prosperous and just country that we know Scotland is capable of being.
"Fellow nationalists, we have shown what we can do. And we have shown that we are ready for independence – as a party, as a government, as a nation.
"So let us go out and win the election, elect our champions and move our country even closer to freedom."
Today the SNP conference also passed resolutions:
* urging the UK government to make extending high speed rail to Scotland a priority;
* challenging the UK parties to make a commitment against cuts to conventional defence spending, manpower and bases in Scotland;
* calling on the UK government to release money being withheld by the UK Treasury so it can be invested in boosting the Scottish renewables sector.
Dods Parliamentary Communications Ltd