New data published on alcohol consumption in England
Both the Health Survey for England and the Local Alcohol Profiles for England have published new statistics this week.
Health Survey for England
Summary results for adults:
-
90% of men and 84% of women said they drank alcohol at least occasionally.
-
The majority of adults had drunk alcohol in the last
week; 73% of men, 57% of women. This includes 22% of men and 13% of
women who had drunk alcohol on five or more days in the last week.
Frequent drinking was most common among men and women aged 45 and over
and in higher income households. -
The current recommendations for daily alcohol intake are
that it should not regularly exceed three to four units for men and two
to three units for women. In the last week, 42% of men and 31% of women
had drunk more than the recommended maximum on at least one day. -
35% of men and 27% of women had drunk more than twice
the recommended levels on at least one day in the last week. This was
most common among the youngest age group (56% of men and 52% of women
aged between 16 and 24), and declined with age. -
On average, among those who drank in the last week, men
consumed 8.5 units on the day they drank most in the last week, and
women consumed 5.5 units. Average consumption was highest among young
adults and declined with age. -
When asked about measuring their intake of alcohol, most
adults (92% of men and 89% of women) had heard of units. However, there
was less knowledge of the recommended maximum daily intake; 35% of men
and 47% of women had heard of units but said they didn’t know what the
recommendations were for men, and 39% of men and 43% of women similarly
knew about units but said they did not know the recommendations for
women. Those who attempted to define the recommendations were more
likely to be wrong than right.
Summary results for children aged 8-15:
-
These are presented with the caveat that children are
likely to under-report their alcohol consumption in home-based surveys
such as this one, because they may be worried about their parents seeing
the answers. -
The proportion who reported ever having had a proper
alcoholic drink increased with age, from 7% of boys aged 8 to 79% of
boys aged 15, and from 8% of girls aged 8 to 74% of girls aged 15.
Overall, 35% of boys and 34% of girls aged 8-15 reported having
experience of drinking alcohol. -
4% of boys and 3% of girls aged 8-15 reported usually
drinking once a week or more. Frequency of drinking was clearly related
to age. The proportion who reported drinking at least once a week
increased from less than 1% of both boys and girls aged 8 to 21% of boys
and 13% of girls aged 15 (the difference between boys and girls not
being statistically significant). -
15% of both boys and girls aged 13-15 reported drinking alcohol in the last 7 days.
-
Consumption of each type of alcoholic drink increased with age, except for consumption of fortified wines.
-
There were some differences in the types of drinks
consumed by boys and girls. Boys were more likely than girls to have
drunk beer, lager, cider or shandy (12% compared with 7%), whereas girls
were more likely than boys to have drunk wine (6% compared with 4%) and
alcopops (8% compared with 5%). -
40% of boys and 41% of girls aged 13-15 said that they
had been drunk in the last 12 months. In most cases they reported that
their parents had been aware that they had been drunk.
The full report on the Health Survey for England can be downloaded here.
Comparisons with 2006 consumption levels.
In the age group 25-34, both men and women reported
increasing numbers of people who had not drunk in the week before the
survey relative to the previous year (33% vs. 28% for men and 47% vs.
41% for women). This continues a trend that has been evident since 2003
for men and since 200 for women. There was little change in the figure
for other age groups.
The percentage of men drinking more than four units on the
heaviest drinking day in the previous week was 42%, including 26% who
drank more than eight units. 25-34 year-olds and 55-64 year-olds showed
decreases in these figures relative to 2006; all other age groups showed
increases. Amongst women, 31% drank more than 3 units on the heaviest
day in the previous week, including 15% who drank more than 6 units. In
the 25-34 year-old age group, there was a reduction in the number
drinking more than 3 units since 2006; there was very little change in
the other age groups.
The proportions of 8-15 year olds who said that they had
ever had an alcoholic drink show generally decreasing trends since
around 2001-2003. Percentages for 2003 and 2007 are given below.
|
|
Age |
2003 |
2007 |
|
Boys |
8-10 |
20 |
11 |
|
|
11-13 |
47 |
34 |
|
|
14-15 |
83 |
68 |
|
Girls |
8-10 |
15 |
9 |
|
|
11-13 |
43 |
33 |
|
|
14-15 |
79 |
70 |
Trend tables can be downloaded here.
Local Alcohol Profiles for England
Local figures for a wide range of alcohol-related
statistics have been released. At a regional level, the North East has
the highest rates of binge drinking and alcohol-attributable hospital
admissions. The North West has the highest rates of hazardous and
harmful drinking (exceeding recommended limits and drinking at levels
almost certain to cause harm), alcohol-attributable mortality and
alcohol-specific hospital admissions for under 18 year-olds. London,
whilst having the lowest level of binge drinking, has the highest level
of alcohol-attributable crime.
Detailed statistics for each local authority as well as regions can be downloaded here.