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Drugs and Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse

Answer

Data on smoking prevalence across Great Britain over the past decade is set out in the Office for National Statistics publication ““Smoking and drinking among adults, 2009””, published 27 January 2011. This document has been placed in the Library.Problematic use of alcohol may be assessed as (i) regular excessive drinking, which increases long term health risks and (ii) excessive drinking on single occasions, carrying risks related to intoxication.Those who exceed the weekly equivalent (more than 21 units weekly for men, more than 14 units weekly for women) of the national health service guidelines for regular daily consumption are the nearest measure of the first type of problematic drinker. Some individuals who drink regularly within the NHS guidelines will also incur illness or death as a result of their consumption, as risks of certain diseases are lower but still occur at these levels. These data are likely to understate the true numbers of those exceeding the NHS guidelines, as they are based on self-reported consumption.Comparable data are only available from 2005 to 2009, the latest year for which figures are available.

Average weekly alcohol consumption among adults aged 16 or over in England
		None last year	Up to 21 units (men) and 14 units (women)	More than 21 units (men) and 14 units (women)
2005	Percentage	15	59	26
	Number (million)	6.0	24.1	10.7
2006	Percentage	14	60	25
	Number (million)	5.8	24.8	10.4
2007	Percentage	n/a	n/a	n/a
	Number (million)	n/a	n/a	n/a
2008	Percentage	15	62	23
	Number (million)	6.4	25.7	9.7
2009	Percentage	16	62	22
	Number (million)	6.7	26.0	9.4
Note:
Figures are not available for 2007.
Source:
Office for National Statistics, General Household Survey 2005-2006 and General Lifestyle Survey 2008-2009.

Those drinking more than double the NHS guidelines for daily consumption on their heaviest drinking day in the previous week are usually taken as an approximate estimate for numbers in the population drinking to intoxication on single occasions, sometimes referred to as 'binge drinking'. NHS advice to individuals is to avoid episodes of intoxication. Individuals are best able to gauge how to stay within levels of consumption that enable them to avoid intoxication.

Amount drunk on heaviest drinking day in the last week by adults aged 16 or over in England
		Drank nothing last week	Up to 8 units (men) and 6 units (women)	More than 8 units (men) and 6 units (women)
2005	Percentage	35	46	19
	Number (million)	14.3	18.8	7.7
2006	Percentage	36	45	19
	Number (million)	14.9	18.5	7.7
2007	Percentage	35	45	20
	Number (million)	14.7	18.5	8.3
2008	Percentage	37	45	18
	Number (million)	15.5	18.8	7.5
2009	Percentage	38	45	16
	Number (million)	16.2	19.0	6.9
Source:
Office for National Statistics, General Household Survey 2005-2007 and General Lifestyle Survey 2008-2009.

As part of the British Crime Survey, data on self-reported drug use are collected. The following table shows the proportion of adults (aged 16 to 59 years) in England and Wales who have taken the drugs listed in the last year, over the past 10 years.

Proportion of 16 to 59-year-olds in England and Wales reporting use of drugs in the last year, 2000 to 2009-10
	2000	2001-02	2002-03	2003-04	2004-05	2005-06	2006-07	2007-08	2008-09	2009-10
Any cocaine	2.0	2.0	2.1	2.5	2.0	2.4	2.6	2.4	3.0	2.5
Powder cocaine	2.0	2.0	2.1	2.4	2.0	2.4	2.6	2.4	3.0	2.4
Crack cocaine	0.3	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.1	0.2	0.2	0.1	0.1	0,2
Ecstasy	1.8	2.2	2.0	2.0	1.8	1.6	1.8	1.5	1.8	1,6
LSD	0.7	0.3	0.3	0.2	0.2	0.3	0.2	0.3	0.2	0,2
Heroin	0.3	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1
Any amphetamine	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	1.2	1.0
Amphetamines	2.1	1.6	1.6	1.5	1.4	1.3	1.3	1.0	1.2	1.0
Methamphetamine	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	0.1	0.0
Cannabis	10.5	10.6	10.9	10.8	9.7	8.7	8.2	7.6	7.9	6.6
Note:
From 2001-02 the British Crime Survey moved to reporting on a financial year basis.
Source:
Drug misuse declared: findings from the 2009-10 British Crime Survey.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

36869; 522 c622-4W

Session

2010-12

Related items

Deposited Paper DEP2011-0178
Monday, 31 January 2011
Deposited papers
House of Commons

Subjects

Alcoholic drinks Drugs Misuse

Contains statistics

Yes

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk