The latest compendium of figures issued on 26th June by the independent provider of official health and social care statistics, the Information Centre (The IC), presents a range of information on alcohol use and misuse drawn together from a variety of sources. The bulletin aims to present a broad picture, in a user friendly format, of health issues relating to alcohol in England and covers topics such as drinking habits and behaviours among adults and school children, drinking in pregnancy, European comparisons of alcohol use, drinking-related ill health and mortality and alcohol-related costs. Most of the data contained in the bulletin has been published previously elsewhere. Government plans and recommendations in this area are also summarised in the bulletin.

In 2005, 6,570 people died from causes directly linked to alcohol consumption, of these just under two thirds (4,160) died from alcoholic liver disease. Two thirds (67%) of those dying from alcoholic liver disease were men.

In England in 2005, 73% of men and 58% of women reported drinking an alcoholic drink on at least one day in the week prior to interview. 13% of men and 8% of women reported drinking on every day in the previous week.

34% of men and 20% of women had drunk more than the recommended number of units on at least one day in the week prior to interview. 18% of men and 8% of women had drunk more than twice the recommended daily intake.

Older people were more likely to drink regularly – 28% of men and 18% of women aged 45-64 drank on five or more days in the week prior to interview compared to 10% of men and 5% of women aged 16-24. Younger people were more likely to drink heavily, with 42% of men and 36% of women aged 16-24 drinking above the daily recommendations compared to 16% of men and 4% of women aged 65 and over.

Among men, 24% reported drinking on average more than 21 units in a week. For women, 13% reported drinking more than 14 units in an average week.

The bulletin also looked at awareness of the Government’s alcohol warnings and found that whilst 69% of people reported that they had heard of the government guidelines on alcohol consumption, of these people, more than a third said that they did not know what the recommendations were. 32% of adults however had seen units of alcohol displayed on labels of alcoholic drinks, compared to 23% in 2000.

In England in 2005, 45% of pregnant women did not drink at all during pregnancy, while 39% reported drinking on average less than 1 unit a week and only 8% drank 1 to 2 units

Alcohol is more affordable than ever according to the figures - In 2006, alcohol was 65% more affordable than it was in 1980. Expenditure on alcohol as a proportion of total household expenditure has decreased steadily over the same period standing at 5.2% in 2006 compared to 7.5% in 1980.

For the first time the bulletin includes information on types of alcohol consumed by adults, whether adults keep a check on the units they consume, alcohol-related hospital admissions for adults and children presented separately and trends in reported household consumption. For children, the bulletin now includes data on drinking and substance use, and truancy and exclusion, as well as ethnicity and European comparisons.

http://www.ic.nhs.uk/statistics-and-data-collections/health-and-lifestyles/alcohol/statistics-on-alcohol:-england-2007-%5Bns%5D