A growing number of UK adults are actively avoiding alcohol, but pensioners are twice as likely to be heavy drinkers than those in their twenties, according to new NHS data.
The figures, from a survey of 100,000 people as part of the Health Survey for England, show a growing disparity in booze consumption between young adults and older generations.
While young people and increasing numbers of men are going sober, close to a third of adults aged between 65 and 74 are drinking at “risky levels” – defined as more than 14 units of alcohol a week – up from a fifth just two years earlier.
People aged 65 to 74 were twice as likely to drink at risky levels (29%) as those aged 25 to 34 (14%).
Meanwhile, some 24% of adults surveyed said they had not drunk alcohol in the previous year, up from 19% in 2022.
The charge toward sobriety is being led by young men aged 16 to 24. Some 39% of this cohort said they had not consumed alcohol in the past 12 months, compared to just 16% of men aged 65 and older.
In women, nearly a third (31%) of those aged 16 to 24 are non-drinkers, compared with fewer than one in five (17%) of those aged 55 to 64.
The figures pointed to a “generational shift in how alcohol fits into people’s lives”, said Katherine Severi, chief executive of the Institute of Alcohol Studies.
She said: “Research suggests those who are choosing to cut back or stop drinking altogether are often doing so not just for health reasons, but because of deeper concerns about the world they’re growing up in, from economic insecurity to climate anxiety.”
Nevertheless, it was “really worrying that older age groups are the most likely to drink at risky levels”, Severi added.
Meanwhile, the rise in sobriety among young people “should not distract from the scale of alcohol harm in England”, warned Jem Roberts, head of external affairs at the IAS.
“Millions of people are still drinking at levels that significantly increase their risk of serious harm,” he said. “The most effective way to reduce the record number of alcohol deaths… is through population-level measures such as minimum unit pricing, clear health warnings on alcohol labels, restrictions on alcohol availability, and comprehensive bans on alcohol marketing.”
As part of its 10-Year Health Plan for England, the government is considering introducing new regulations aimed at tackling alcohol-related harm, including tobacco-style health warnings and a ban on sales of low & no-alcohol products to under-18s.
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