We’re secretly drinking double the safe limits
SCOTS are drinking up to twice as much alcohol as they admit, researchers have found.
Men regularly consume up to 35 units a week and women up to 15, putting them well over the recommended limits.
The findings have emerged in a landmark report which has gathered extensive information about the nation’s drinking habits.
As well as examining the amount people say they drink, the study links up with information on NHS drink-related health records and alcohol sales.
Men and women are advised to drink no more than 14 units of alcohol a week – the equivalent of six medium glasses of wine or six pints of lager. Drinking too much alcohol raises the risk of cancer, heart disease and diabetes as well as anxiety and depression.
But the study by Scottish Governmentfunded researchers found men and women are routinely drinking far more than the survey data shows.
Although men already admit to drinking an average of 18.8 units of alcohol a week, via the Scottish Health Survey (SHS) – an annual report on the nation’s health – a more realistic amount is likely to be even higher. It could be anywhere between 19.1 and 35.5 units, the researchers say.
For women, figures from the Scottish Health Survey suggest they drink an average of 8.8 units of alcohol a week – well within the safe limits.
But academics say the true amount women are consuming could be nearly double that, potentially anywhere from 8.8 to 15.5 units.
Dr Linsay Gray of Glasgow University’s Social and Public Health Sciences Unit said: ‘Estimates of alcohol consumption from survey data tend to be underestimates. So we used additional information which, when we combined it, enabled us to find out more. People may be choosing to under-report their alcohol consumption because it is socially desirable.
‘This is informative for alcohol research and public health policy because it gives a broader idea of potentially more realistic estimates of alcohol consumption.’
The researchers, whose article is published in the journal Addiction, used information from the SHS and, with the respondents’ consent, linked it to their NHS health data on alcoholrelated illnesses as well as deaths.
They included information from sales which shows the amount of alcohol sold in pubs, off-licences and supermarkets. These adjustments resulted in ‘elevated’ estimates of drinking rates, particularly among men living in deprived areas.
Alison Douglas of Alcohol Focus Scotland said: ‘As well as people under-reporting or under-estimating their consumption, self-report surveys fail to fully represent the heaviest drinkers. This study shows that making adjustments for these limitations increases consumption estimates. To reduce alcohol harm we need to tackle the cheap prices and easy availability that encourage excessive drinking.’
Scottish Tory health spokesman Miles Briggs said: ‘We need to change Scotland’s relationship with alcohol and discourage binge drinking.’
A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘Scotland has a difficult relationship with alcohol, with the most harm caused by cheap, high-strength alcohol, especially in deprived areas.
‘That is why we remain committed to minimum unit pricing. We have banned multi-buy discounts and will consider what further action to take.’