On a Saturday evening, as drunken yobs spill out of pubs and A&E units brace themselves for the first casualties of binge drinking, it is difficult to believe that Britain may actually be winning the battle against booze.
But statistics on alcohol published this week paint an intriguing picture of a nation that appears, finally, to be curbing its addiction to drink. And it seems that teenagers and young adults are leading the turnaround.
Even charities such as Alcohol Concern and Drinkaware admit that changes are under way while the NHS refers to “a long-term downward trend” in alcohol consumption.
What nobody can agree is why it is happening now, or whether the decline can be sustained without measures such as a minimum price for alcohol.
First, the facts: according to the NHS Information Centre there was a 3 per cent fall in alcohol-related hospital admissions last year; the number of men and women who admitted drinking in the previous week is down; and the proportion of schoolchildren who admitted drinking, or who thought drinking alcohol was acceptable, is also lower.
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The NHS data underpins findings from other inquiries. Consumption of alcohol per capita has fallen from 9.5 litres to 8.3 litres between 2004 and 2011 and is now equal to the European average and lower than Spain, Ireland and France (UK Customs & Excise), and drinking at harmful levels has fallen from 9 per cent of men to 6 per cent, and 5 per cent of women to 3 per cent in the five years to 2010 (OECD).
The latest statistics have however been greeted with extreme caution by those most closely involved with dealing with alcohol abuse. Hospital admissions related to alcohol may be slightly down year-on-year but they remain about 40 per cent higher than a decade ago.
Emily Robinson, director of campaigns at Alcohol Concern, said: “While people might be drinking less, in an historical context our levels of drinking are still very high indeed and alcohol related hospital admissions have been rising.
“So while we may be seeing more people choosing not to drink at all, those who are drinking frequently are causing themselves significant health problems with liver disease on the rise and affecting younger people.”
Chris Sorek, from Drinkaware, said: “It is encouraging to see green shoots of behaviour change, [but] much more must be done to help people make healthier choices about alcohol.”
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It is not clear why consumers have decided to moderate their drinking. Paradoxically, most experts think the turning point coincided with the introduction of 24-hour drinking in 2005, which was intended to create a new “café society”.
Initially, they appeared to encourage all-day binge drinking but the longer-term impact has probably been positive. Traditional pubs have gone into decline as drinkers drifted away to bars and restaurants where they are less inclined to binge.
Chains such as All Bar One and the Living Room are also steering drinkers towards wines and beers with less alcohol as part of a trade commitment to remove 1 billion units by 2015.
They are concerned about your health, of course; but they are also worried that unless they take responsibility for excessive drinking, the Government will toughen licensing laws and hit their profits.
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Chris and Susan Wallace “We used to have a bottle but now we have half a bottle and save the next half for the next day,” says Ms Wallace, who worked in the wine industry. “And we have a bottle of water on the side, which we never used to. It’s both for financial and health reasons. We are more conscious of not overdoing it.”
Dave Carter City drinking is less common than it used to be but is still an important part of Mr Carter’s work life. The lawyer, 45, said: “Are we drinking less than we used to? Yes, there used to be a culture of drinking at lunchtime. Mad Men really did happen. Now you have a couple of hours on a Thursday, a couple of hours on a Friday. People go out and get destroyed.”
Sandra Esqulant The pub landlady says: “I think we ain’t changed in as long as I’ve been alive. I own this pub. People drink, they don’t drink. Like me, sometimes I drink, sometimes I don’t.” But she added that over the years the numbers have stayed steady. In fact, she thinks that some people, worried about “work, mortgages, families”, might be drinking more because of stress and the recession.
Yvonne McCuaig Ms McCuaig, 33, from Glasgow, does not drink, but says she sees people drinking more as times get harder. “I have definitely noticed that. It’s so stressful, financially, people want to clear their minds, hence they drink more. Its part of the culture where I’m from. People don’t see themselves as alcoholics but they drink almost every day. I’m self-employed and work really hard, and I think you can’t do both. Some people try.”