Millions exceed weekly alcohol limit in a day

More than 2.5 million Britons surpass the recommended weekly alcohol allowance of 14 units in just one day, new statistics reveal.

More than 2.9m Britons exceed the weekly recommended alcohol limit in one day, research suggests

According to the results of a 2014 survey on drinking habits published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the figures are equal to 9% of drinkers.

Furthermore, the research showed that approximately 28.9m people in the UK – 58% of the adult population – admitted to consuming some alcohol the week before being questioned.

This demonstrates a marginal reduction from 64% back in 2005.

Among those who had consumed alcohol the week before, 45% – or 12.9m people – drank more than 4.67 units, which is equivalent to a third of the new weekly guideline, published at the start of 2016.

The research also showed that young people were less likely to have consumed alcohol the week before in comparison to older groups, with less than half of 16-24-year-olds reporting doing so, compared with 66% of 45-64-year-olds.

Looking back to 2005, the figures showed a marked drop among young drinkers (60% in 2005), but only a slight dip among older consumers (69% in 2005).

The chances of men (64%) having drunk alcohol was higher than women (53%), but more than half of men exceeded 4.67 units (52%) compared to just over a third of women (37%).

The number of people consuming alcohol was highest in the South East (62%) and South West (62%), while London had the lowest percentage at 51%, closely followed by Wales at 53%.

Jamie Jenkins, ONS statician, said: “It’s clear form these figures that although there are now more people, especially younger ones, who don’t drink alcohol at all, there is still a significant group of other people who are drinking well in excess of the latest health advice.”