Scots were urged yesterday to consider carefully how much alcohol they consume as a groundbreaking new awareness campaign was launched.

The drive to ensure everyone understands how many units they drink - and what it means for their health - was unveiled at the start of Scotland's first Alcohol Awareness Week.

Hundreds of thousands of guides to the number of units in drinks from champagne to sherry are being distributed across the country as part of the initiative.

Information about safe drinking will be available on beer mats and buses, in supermarkets, off licences and every Army mess in the country.

Tom Wood, chairman of the Scottish Association of Alcohol and Drug Action Teams, said: "Recent evidence shows that people in Scotland underestimate how much they drink and have very little understanding of units.

"Alcohol Awareness Week gives us the opportunity to address this lack of understanding.

"Action teams across Scotland will be working very hard this week and will be taking the key messages of the campaign where they need to be - right to the heart of our communities."

The project, which involves the alcohol industry and the Scottish Government, follows a raft of worrying statistics about the toll alcohol is taking on the nation's health.

With cases of alcohol- related liver disease doubling in a decade, experts suggest excessive drinking patterns have become routine across large sections of the population.

More than one million people in Scotland drink dangerously one night a week, according to a new assessment published last week.

Shona Robison, minister for public health, said: "We know most Scots drink responsibly but also that alcohol-related health harm is on the increase.

"It can be difficult to know how much you are drinking when drinks can vary so much in size and strength.

"It is important that we all get to know the units in our drinks so we can make informed choices and take responsibility for our own consumption. That is why we have all come together to host Scotland's first ever Alcohol Awareness Week."

Pressure is growing on the industry to display the number of units in a product, and the recommended daily limits, more clearly on the label.

Bryan Donaghey, managing director of Diageo Scotland, which is behind a number of world-famous brands, represented the industry at the awareness week launch and he gave a cool response to this idea. He said that irresponsible drinking was not in the interests of the trade and everyone needed to be honest with themselves about their alcohol use.

But asked about clearer labelling, he said: "As an industry I think we have moved a long way forward in terms of putting information onto the bottle."

When pushed on greater clarity, he said: "I do not see a huge additional benefit."

Other measures, such as increasing the price of drink, were also met with a sceptical response from industry representatives.

Chief executive of the Scottish Whisky Association, Gavin Hewitt, said that in Sweden, where prices were high, a large proportion of spirits were illegally supplied.

He also highlighted the importance of whisky to the Scottish economy, saying two out of 100 jobs in Scotland are whisky related, including bottle production and transport.

Ms Robison said the partnership behind alcohol awareness week, which also involves health professionals and campaign groups, would not always agree.

She added: "The important thing is this is the first time the partners have come together - industry and government - to speak with one voice with a very clear message and challenge to the public: Does your own drinking add up? Stop talking about alcohol being someone else's problem, such as binge drinkers on a Saturday night or chronic alcoholics.' "As a society we drink too much in general terms and that is the issue we need to address."

Alcohol Awareness Week runs until Saturday.