Britain leads the world in binge-drinking, India not far behind
Britain leads a global survey of binge-drinking, with India finishing sixth in the top 10 countries, mostly dominated by the English-speaking world.
The Global Drug Survey released in London on Thursday reports that Britons got drunk 51.1 times over a year – almost once every week. The US (50.3), Canada (47.9) and Australia (47.4) follow in the list dubbed the ‘league of shame’. The figure for Bacchus-loving Indians is 41. Other countries in the top 10 are Denmark, Ireland, Mexico, Czech Republic and Finland.
South American countries reported getting drunk on the lowest number of occasions (Chile 16 times a year, Colombia and Germany tied at 22).
The group’s annual survey explored the use of drugs as well as alcohol. Adam Winstock, founder of the survey, said while fewer people were drinking, many still drank to excess: "We get told too much is bad, and it is, but current guidelines fail to accept the pleasure of intoxication and give little guide on the difference between being a little drunk and a lot drunk, and doing it three to four times a year versus weekly.”
“We need to have that conversation. In the UK, we don't tend to do moderation, we end up getting drunk as the point of the evening”.
Globally, participants who drank alcohol in the last 12 months reported regretting getting drunk on 20% of occasions, with the highest rates of regret being reported among women aged 25 years and older (24.2%) and lowest among males aged 25 years and younger (17%).