Alcohol: adult alcohol consumption

Levels of alcohol consumption can be estimated based on sales data or survey self-reports. It is well known that self-report surveys underestimate how much people drink (Goddard, 2004; Catto & Gibbs, 2008). In the absence of a "gold standard" for the measurement of alcohol intake, sales figures provide an objective indication of levels of consumption and have been used to quantify the level of underestimation inherent in self-report surveys (Catto & Gibbs, 2008). However, sales data provide no information on drinking patterns, a key strength of self-report surveys.

Industry sales data

In Scotland, alcohol retail sales data are used to estimate population alcohol consumption for the purpose of Monitoring and Evaluating Scotland’s Alcohol Strategy (MESAS). A recent report by NHS HealthScotland, which reviewed the validity and reliability of alcohol retail sales data, concluded that they offer a robust source of data for this purpose.

As part of the MESAS portfolio of studies, several reports have been published that describe trends in per adult sales of alcohol in Scotlandand England& Wales, by drink type and trade sector. In addition, the price distribution of alcohol sold through the off-trade has also been described. The reports and accompanying datasets are available from the MESAS pages on the NHS HealthScotland website.

For more information on the MESAS studies and outputs, please go to the MESAS page on the NHS Health Scotland website.

Survey data

The latest available information on adult alcohol consumption can be found in two key population surveys: The Scottish Health Survey (SHeS) and the Scottish Social Attitudes Survey 2007.

To account for an increase in both the strength and measures of alcoholic drinks in recent years, the Office for National Statistics published new alcohol unit conversion factors in 2007. These updated conversion factors have been applied to recorded alcohol consumption in the Scottish Health Survey 2008, 2009 and 2010, as they were also applied, retrospectively, to the Scottish Health Survey 2003.

• Men - Consuming more than 8 units per day (revised from 8 or more)
• Women - Consuming more than 6 units per day (revised from 6 or more). Daily benchmarks remain the same as before - that men should not consistently drink more than 3-4 units of alcohol per day, and women should not consistently drink more than 2-3 units of alcohol per day.

Daily benchmarks remain the same as before - that men should not consistently drink more than 3-4 units of alcohol per day, and women should not consistently drink more than 2-3 units of alcohol per day.

The Scottish Health Survey 2010 reported on daily and weekly alcohol consumption levels in a sample of the Scottish population. A summary of the findings is provided below.

Daily Consumption

• Among those who had drunk in the last week, 43% of men and 33% of women drank more than the recommended daily limits on their heaviest drinking day.
• On the heaviest drinking day in the past week, 26% of men and 16% of women who had drunk in the previous week reported 'binge drinking' (.i.e. more than 8 units for men and more than 6 units for women).
• 33% of men and 28% of women aged 16 to 24 reported 'binge drinking' on their heaviest drinking day in the least week.

Weekly Consumption

• In a typical week, 27% of all men drank in excess of the 21 units per week and 18% of all women drank over the recommended 14 units per week.
• For men, the proportion drinking more than the weekly recommended limit was highest in the 55-64 age group with 30% drinking over 21 units a week.
• For women, the proportion drinking more than the weekly recommended limit was the highest in the 16-24 age group with 25% drinking over 14 units per week
• On average, men estimated that they usually drank 16.0 units of alcohol per week, and women estimated that they usually drank 7.6 units per week.