News
Northern Ireland Drinking Patterns Survey shows majority favour minimum
unit pricing
Results from the fifth
Adult Drinking Patterns Survey were published today.
The survey was
conducted between 1 October 2013 and 30 November 2013 across a sample of
private households in Northern Ireland. The last survey was carried out in
2011.
The report presents
information on the amount of alcohol the respondents consumed, when, where and
what they drank, who they drank with, and those who reported binge and problem
drinking.
In addition, for the
first time, respondents were asked questions on their attitude to minimum unit
pricing. Results showed that two-thirds of respondents
(68%) had heard of minimum unit pricing of alcohol prior to the survey, and
that three-fifths of respondents
(60 per cent) were in favour of minimum unit pricing.
Key findings included the
following:
- The majority of respondents who drank alcohol in the week prior to
the survey did so in their own home (65%)
- There was a positive income/consumption correlation; those from the
richest households (£52,000+ per annum) were most likely to drink at least
once a week, but the poorest respondents were most likely to drink alone
(30 per cent of those from households with income under £10,400 per annum)
- A significant proportion of respondents underreported their level
of consumption. 54 per cent of men who drank at dangerous levels claimed
to be ‘moderate’ drinkers, 19 per cent said that they were ‘light’
drinkers, and a fifth of those who through their
responses had specifically indicated that they had a drinking problem saw themselves as 'light drinkers'
This article was adapted
from “Adult
Drinking Patterns Survey in Northern Ireland 2013”, originally
published on 19 August 2014.