Government changes to drinking guidelines have meant nearly a third of men are now classified as consuming more booze than recommended in an average week, new NHS figures revealed today.
The HSCIC (Health and Social Care Information Centre) Health Survey for England found 31% of men drank more than 14 units in a usual week, compared with 16% of women.
Industry groups claimed the figures masked a continued decline in the number of adults drinking at high levels.
The figures show the number of adults drinking from 14 to 21 units per week (within the previous chief medical officer’s guidelines, before January 2016) increased 9% since 2014 and on average, men drank 14.9 units in a usual week (a decline of 11% since 2014).
“Today’s figures reflect the controversial changes made by the chief medical officer to the drinking guidelines in January 2016,” said Dave Roberts, director general of the Alcohol Information Partnership.
“By reducing the male guideline from 21 to 14 units per week, 2.5 million men who were drinking at sensible levels were reclassified overnight as riskier drinkers. This change from the CMO has given a statistical increase in risky drinking of 12%.”
However, he added: “The data shows that most people in the UK continue to enjoy a drink in a convivial and moderate manner.”
The number of men and women not exceeding 14 units per week increased 3% since 2014, while the number of adults drinking at ‘higher risk’ levels declined 17% since 2014.
Henry Ashworth, chief executive of the Portman Group, said: “These figures show that the majority of people consume alcohol safely and sensibly, and that more of us are drinking within low-risk guidelines. Most encouragingly, the number of adults drinking at high risk levels has fallen 17% since last year. These positive trends are part of a decade-long reduction in harmful drinking and indicate that policy is on the right track.”
However, the results come just weeks after a PHE report showed more than 10 million people are drinking at levels that increase the risk of harming their health.
Its evidence review said that alcohol was the leading cause of death among 15 to 49-year-olds and that heavy alcohol use had been identified as a cause of more than 200 health conditions.
The review found that just 5% of the heaviest drinkers accounted for one third of all alcohol consumed, and recommended reducing the affordability of alcohol as the most cost-effective way of reducing alcohol harm.
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