A Glasgow man 'lived in a dark place' after the death of his beloved grandfather which sent him on a downward spiral of alcohol abuse and came close to killing him.

Graeme started drinking heavily when his “granda” died 10 years ago and it almost caused his death from alcohol-related pancreatitis.

It was only after the intervention of drugs and mental health charity WithYou the 36-year-old was able to turn his life around, the Record reports.

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Graeme said: “I was very isolated. I would be sitting in one room in the house. The only time I would leave was to go and get alcohol. I lived my life from 10am to 10pm, due to Scottish licensing laws.

“A lot of the time I would wake up too early and I would have cravings for alcohol. It would get to a certain time of night, 9.45pm, and I would have to rush to the shop to make sure I had enough alcohol to get through the night.

“The world was very dark. I felt suicidal quite a lot of the time. My mental health was shot.”

And although he knew he needed to stop drinking when it began to affect his health he feared he would not “have a life” without it.

However, during one hospital stay he was referred to WithYou. He added: “When I asked for help it was the best thing I ever did.

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“Coming out the other side and seeing the world for what it is now, it’s a much happier place. The sun shines brighter, the grass is greener, the birds chirp louder.

“My WithYou worker has helped me through a very dark period in my life and for that I owe him everything.

“In the west of Scotland alcohol is almost an institution. When I got to a certain age it was a rite of passage, you had to have a drink.”

Graeme’s recovery worker, Ronnie Hart, commented: “People go out and enjoy themselves and they do that with a drink.

“If I had a magic wand it would be so people would know when they had enough and be able to stop and go home.”

Louise Stewart, Director of Service Delivery for the charity, yesterday (September 10) insisted the Scottish Government must pursue alcohol-specific deaths with “much greater urgency, determination and innovation”.

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She said: “Minimum unit pricing is often held up as an example of forward-thinking policy-making because we were the first country in the world to introduce this measure. But it could and should work much harder.

“Currently, the funds raised go to retailers and the alcohol industry itself. This revenue could make a real difference if it was instead directed towards improving and increasing the availability of alcohol support services - because these services will ultimately help to save lives.

“To demonstrate its commitment to reducing alcohol-specific deaths, we believe that the Scottish Government should update, resource and reinforce treatment standards that ensure people receive a choice of treatment, as well as access to support and harm reduction measures, wherever they are in Scotland.”

And she added: “Today, I would encourage people across Scotland to think about their relationship with alcohol. This doesn’t simply mean how many drinks you have in a week, it also means how you respond when a friend or family member tells you they’re ‘having a night off’.

“We need to see a cultural shift so that alcohol is no longer at the centre of our social lives, and so that it’s ok to say no.”