Report Reveals How Much We Drink

The NHS has recently published the latest statistics on how much alcohol we drink. The report shows that we are reducing the amount of alcohol we drink but less encouraging news is that alcohol related deaths are on the increase, as are prescriptions treating people with alcohol dependency.

The survey suggests that Londoners drink less alcohol than anywhere else in the country but the stats for the South East, which would include Harpenden, are relatively high. In our region, 67% of all adults drank alcohol at least once within the last week and 17% drank on five days or more. In London these figures reduce to 51% and 14% respectively. Back in the South East, 18% of us owned up to drinking 8 units of more (men) / 6 units or more (women) on at least one day, making us the biggest region of binge drinkers in the south of the country.

The report does highlight a north south divide when it comes to our drinking habits. Those living in Yorkshire and West Humberside present themselves as the biggest binge drinkers with 29% of men surveyed reporting to drink in excess of 8 units at least one day a week.

It does though appear that young people increasingly understand the message about the dangers of alcohol. In 2008, 48% of pupils reported having never tried alcohol, compared with 39% in 2003. This is further supported by the findings that 18% of pupils had drunk alcohol in the last week, which has decreased from 26% in 2001. The report also shows that young people are becoming less tolerant of their peer group drinking excessively or getting drunk.

In England in 2008, there were 6,769 deaths directly related to alcohol.

What do you think of the findings? Would you consider Harpenden to have a binge drinking problem? Should alcohol be made more expensive to deter drinkers? Or, should the government back off preaching to us and leave us to enjoy a drink?