Binge drinking
March 2005
Binge drinking in the UK
There is a considerable body of research on the differences between the drinking patterns of northern and southern Europe. Drinkers in the United Kingdom, and those from other northern European countries, are often characterised as ‘episodic drinkers’, who on average drink less frequently than southern Europeans, but who consume more alcohol when they do drink. In the UK binge drinking accounts for 40 per cent of all drinking occasions by men and 22 per cent of those by women [go to reference 7].
General Household Survey 2003 data show that 23 per cent of men and 9 per cent of women had engaged in ‘binge drinking’ at least once in the last week [go to reference 11]. This is based on the ONS definition of ‘heavy drinking’ (men drinking more than 8 units on at least one day in the last week, and women drinking at least 6 units on at least one day in the last week). For both sexes, the prevalence of binge drinking is highest in the 16 to 24 year old age group and decreases with age. 37 per cent of men and 26 per cent of women aged 16 to 24 drank heavily in the week before the General Household Survey.
General Household Survey figures for 2003 indicate that men binge drink more than women in every age group, though this gender difference is less marked in younger age groups and seems to have narrowed since 1998 (the year in which the General Household Survey started to include questions about the maximum daily amount drunk in the last week). Recent data from ESPAD show that, in younger age groups, women may now be binge drinking more often than men. Among 15 and 16 year olds in the UK 26 per cent of boys and 29 per cent of girls reported having five or more drinks in a row at least three times during the last 30 days [go to reference 6].
General Household Survey data indicate that single men are more likely than married men to drink heavily, though this association may be partly due to the correlation between age and marital status. In the over 45 age group however, alcohol consumption is higher than average among divorced and separated men (22% of this group had drunk heavily on at least one day in the last week, compared with only 14% of married or cohabitating men in the same age group) [go to reference 11]. The General Household Survey 2002 found no significant differences between the socio-economic classes in the proportion who had drunk heavily on at least one day in the previous week [go to reference 12].
Figure 1 : Source General Household Survey 2003
There are significant regional differences in drinking patterns across Great Britain. In 2002, men and women living in Wales and Scotland were more likely than those living in England to have drunk heavily on at least one day in the previous week. 26 per cent of men in Scotland and Wales surveyed for the General Household Survey had drunk more than eight units of alcohol on at least one day during the previous week. Twelve per cent of women in Scotland and 15 per cent in Wales had drunk heavily in the last week, compared with 10 per cent of women in England [go to reference12]. There are also variations in drinking pattern across regions in the UK. A recent report focusing on public health in the north west of England, for example, demonstrated that although the population on average drinks less frequently than those across England, they are more likely to drink over the recommended daily limits and to drink more heavily than the English population as a whole [go to reference 13].