• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

Institute of Alcohol Studies HomepageInstitute of Alcohol Studies

Bringing together evidence, policy and practice to reduce alcohol harm

  • Home
  • About us
    • People
    • Our strategy
    • Small Grants Scheme
    • Networks
    • Vacancies
    • Contact us
  • Publications
  • Explore by Topic
    • Alcohol across society
    • Availability
    • Consumption
    • Health
    • Marketing
    • Price
    • The alcohol industry
    • Transport
    • Violence and crime
  • News & Comment
    • Latest news and events
    • Blog
    • Alcohol Alert
    • Podcasts
    • Videos
    • See all
  • Search

Alcohol across society

On this page

  • Facts and stats
  • Briefings
  • Reports
  • Blogs
  • Podcasts
  • Videos

The resources on this webpage provide information about alcohol’s impact on different demographic groups.

Alcohol is the second most widely consumed psychoactive substance in the UK (after caffeine) and is highly prevalent in personal and social situations. Nearly 30 million adult Brits say they drink alcohol, an indication of alcohol’s ubiquity and presence in so many areas of British society today.

Brits’ drinking habits have evolved over time in various ways, and have in turn affected the health of different social groups.

For example, since the year 2000, the gap between men and women’s alcohol consumption has closed markedly, the proportion of underage drinkers (defined here as those who purchase alcohol for consumption before they reach the minimum legal purchase age of 18) has receded, young drinkers’ intake (adults between 16 and 24 years of age) has become less frequent (but no less heavy), and survey data appear to show alcohol-related health issues mounting among a generation of older-aged Brits (those between 45 and 64 years of age), who appear to be relatively heavier drinkers than previous generations.

Facts and stats

  • Alcohol harm costs society between £27 and £52 billion every year, between 1.4% and 2.7% of national income. (Burton R, 2017)
  • Alcohol harm costs the NHS at least £3.5 billion every year, although this is likely an underestimate (NHS)
  • The OECD calculates that the cost to the UK healthcare system stands at 3%, which by 2023 figures would mean a cost of over £8 billion. (OECD, 2021)

What are the total costs of alcohol to society? by The Institute of Alcohol Studies

The phenomenon where as the level of socioeconomic deprivation increases, so does alcohol-specific mortality, despite such groups consuming less alcohol


What is the alcohol harm paradox? by The Institute of Alcohol Studies

  • Every year, workplace hangovers are estimated to cost the UK economy between £1.2bn and £1.4bn

How much do workplace hangovers cost the UK economy? by The Institute of Alcohol Studies

  • Lower socioeconomic groups are more likely to experience high frequency alcohol-related anti-social behaviour; around half of those from the lowest socioeconomic groups who ever experienced this in the last year experienced it every week or more often (IAS, 2020)
  • 1 in 10 people experience alcohol-related antisocial behaviour every year. (ONS, 2019)
  • Incidence rates for alcohol-related domestic violence among the most disadvantaged groups were up to 14 times higher compared with the least disadvantaged (IAS, 2020)
  • 1 in 5 people in England had been harmed by others drinking alcohol over a single year. (Beynon, C. et al, 2019)
  • In England, approximately 200,000 children are predicted to live with an alcohol dependent parent. (Pryce, R. et al. 2017)
  • These children are six times more likely to experience domestic violence, three times more likely to consider suicide, and two or three times more likely to go on to have addiction problems themselves. (Nacoa, 2023)
  • People who experience homelessness have an increased risk of problem drug and alcohol use and are at increased risk of a range of acute and chronic harms including poisoning, seizures, liver disease, cancers, assault and injuries, putting them at high risk of premature death. (Parkes et al. 2021)
  • Alcohol-specific causes accounted for almost one in 10 (9.6%) of estimated deaths of homeless people registered in 2021. (ONS, 2022)
  • 9% of people starting treatment for alcohol in 2021/22 reported a housing problem. (OHID, 2023)

Briefings

Cannabis liberalisation: Lessons for alcohol policy

October 2023

Alcohol through the life course: Older drinkers

Alcohol through the life course: Young drinkers

Alcohol through the life course: Underage drinkers

Ethnic minorities and alcohol

Alcohol and health inequalities

The costs of alcohol to society

Men and alcohol

Women and alcohol

Reports

IAS response to consultation on Major Conditions Strategy

June 2023

People, Planet, or Profit: alcohol’s impact on a sustainable future

November 2022

IAS response to consultation on the Redesign of the Crime Survey for England and Wales

August 2022

The COVID Hangover: summary report

July 2022

The COVID Hangover: addressing long-term health impacts of changes in alcohol consumption during the pandemic

July 2022

IAS Annual Report 2021/22

May 2022

October 2021 Budget Analysis

December 2021

IAS response to consultation on revised WHO Global Alcohol Action Plan

August 2021

IAS response to Call for Evidence on Women’s Health Strategy

June 2021

Blogs

10470Acceptable, accessible and affordable – but at what cost? 

Acceptable, accessible and affordable – but at what cost? 

Alice Wiseman

15th November 2023

10455Seeking ‘honest’ conversations online: how is alcohol and pregnancy talked about on Mumsnet?

Seeking ‘honest’ conversations online: how is alcohol and pregnancy talked about on Mumsnet?

Dr Lisa Schölin and Rachel Arkell

14th November 2023

10316Rainbows in June: Selling alcohol to LGBTQ+ people

Rainbows in June: Selling alcohol to LGBTQ+ people

Dr David Whiteley

4th October 2023

10139How much does health behaviour contribute to socioeconomic inequalities in alcohol harm?

How much does health behaviour contribute to socioeconomic inequalities in alcohol harm?

Dr Jennifer Boyd

22nd June 2023

8923How the cost of living crisis affects alcohol harm

How the cost of living crisis affects alcohol harm

Dr Philip Broadbent

18th April 2023

9267Drinking Alone Predicts Future Alcohol Problems

Drinking Alone Predicts Future Alcohol Problems

Dr Kasey Creswell

22nd March 2023

9266How Does Drinking Alcohol Increase Suicide Risk – and How Can it Be Managed?

How Does Drinking Alcohol Increase Suicide Risk – and How Can it Be Managed?

Jason Isaacs

7th March 2023

8815‘It’s everywhere’: Considering the impact of alcohol marketing on people with problematic alcohol use

‘It’s everywhere’: Considering the impact of alcohol marketing on people with problematic alcohol use

Dr Amanda Atkinson

1st March 2023

Podcasts

UK public wants more action on alcohol harm

In our latest podcast we spoke to Anu Rumm of the Alcohol Health Alliance, about new polling data which suggests […]

Anu Rumm – Alcohol Health Alliance
Ailar Hashemzadeh – Alcohol Change UK

August 2023

How far can we trust the latest Global Burden of Disease study?

We spoke to Professor Tim Stockwell about the major issues of the study, including: – Why the study has reported […]

Professor Tim Stockwell – Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research

September 2022

Men’s drinking habits in the context of becoming a father

New fathers’ voices are almost absent in relation to their experiences of alcohol use and of research on the effectiveness […]

Dr Elena Dimova – Glasgow Caledonian University

February 2021

Celebrity endorsement of UCL’s Drink Less app

The celebrity influence of broadcaster Adrian Chiles on the Drink Less app caused a spike in middle-aged men engaging with […]

Dr Claire Garnett – Senior Research Fellow, UCL

January 2021

Videos

Alcohol marketing to Sexual and Gender Minorities

May 2023

The COVID Hangover: long-term health impacts of changes in alcohol consumption during the pandemic

July 2022

Alcohol & Human Rights

March 2022

Alcohol industry sustainability commitments

January 2022

TOPIC
  • Alcohol across society
  • Availability
  • Consumption
  • Health
  • Marketing
  • Price
  • The alcohol industry
  • Transport
  • Violence and crime

Footer

IAS is proud to be a member of

  • Twitter
  • Spotify
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn

Contact us

©2023 Institute of Alcohol Studies

Terms and Conditions | Privacy Policy

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.Ok