This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
Non-drinking becomes ‘mainstream’ among under-25s
Almost a third of those aged between 16 and 24 are choosing to abstain from alcohol but reasons as to why remain unclear, a new study has suggested.
Young people in England are increasingly opting to not drink alcohol
A total of 9,699 people were questioned for the study and the results, published in the medical journal BMC Public Health, showed a clear decline in alcohol consumption among the under-25 demographic.
Researchers analysed official health data from the last 10 years and discovered 29% of 16- to 24-year-olds in England in 2015 said they did not drink alcohol, compared to 18% in 2005.
This was largely attributable to increases in lifetime abstention, the study said. Rates of not drinking in the past week have also risen from 35% in 2005 to 50% in 2015.
The study also said non-drinking appears to have increased across “almost all sub-groups”, including healthy groups (non-smokers, high physical activity and good mental health), those in employment or full-time education, and both northern and southern regions in England. This suggested that non-drinking was becoming “more mainstream” among young people.
Furthermore, only 28% of those surveyed confessed to having consumed above the recommended guidelines in 2015, compared to 43% in 2005. The number of lifetime abstainers has also almost doubled from 9% in 2005 to 17% in 2015.
In conclusion, the study said: “Increases in non-drinking among young people has coincided with a delayed initiation into alcohol consumption and are to be welcomed.
“Future research should explore attitudes towards drinking among young people.”